12Powers and procedure of Appellate Boar

12. Powers and procedure of ¹[Appellate Board].--(1) The ¹[Appellate Board] shall, subject to any rules that may be made under this Act, have power to regulate its own procedure, including the fixing of places and times of its sittings:

Provided that the ¹[Appellate Board] shall ordinarily hear any proceeding instituted before it under this Act within the zone in which, at the time of the institution of the proceeding, the person instituting the proceeding actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain.

Explanation.--In this sub-section "zone" means a zone specified in section 15 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (37 of 1956).

(2) The ¹[Appellate Board] may exercise and discharge its powers and functions through Benches constituted by the Chairman of the ¹[Appellate Board] from amongst its ²[members]:

³[Provided that, if the Chairman is of opinion that any matter of importance is required to be heard by a larger bench, he may refer the matter to a special bench consisting of five members.]

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(5) No member of the 1[Appellate Board] shall take part in any proceedings before the Board in respect of any matter in which he has a personal interest.

(6) No act done or proceeding taken by the ¹[Appellate Board] under this Act shall be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, or defect in the constitution of, the Board.

(7) The ¹[Appellate Board] shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of ⁵[sections 345 and 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)] and all proceedings before the Board shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).