Report No. 60
9.4. Recommendation.-
We have considered the desirability of including such a section in the General Clauses Act, and have come to the conclusion that it would be proper to do so. We have made a similar recommendation in our Report1 on 'Social and Economic Offences'. We recommend accordingly that the following section should be inserted in the Act:-
1. 47th Report.
Section 13AA (New)
(1) Offences by Companies.-If the person committing an offence under any Central Act or Regulation made on or after the day of 1 is a company, then, unless a different intention appears, the company as well as every person in charge of, and responsible to, the company for the conduct of its business at the time of the commission of the offence shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Where an offence under any such Act or Regulation has been committed by a company, then, unless a different intention appears, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, not being a person in charge of and responsible to the company for the conduct of its business at the time of the commission of the offence, shall if it is proved that the offence has been committed with his consent of connivance or that the commission of the offence is attributable to any neglect on his part, also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation.-For the purpose of this section,-
(a) "company" means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of persons, and
(b) "director", in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
1. Date of commencement of amending Act to be inserted.
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