Report No. 47

II. Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.

(1) In section 19 D(1) of the Act, for the words 'has reason to believe' the words 'honestly believes' should be substituted1.

(2) A new section should be inserted in the Act to provide interception of postal articles and telegraphs.2

(3) By inserting section 19DD, power to seize containers3 should be provided for.

(4) In section 23(1), punishment should be increased.4 There should be a provision for minimum imprisonment, and minimum fine.

(5) By adding an Explanation under section 23C, a provision should be inserted to make the Chairman and Managing Director of a company criminally liable for transactions connected with a permission under the Act applied for and obtained in the name of the Company.5

(6) A new section-section 23CC-should be inserted to provide for public condemnation of corporations convicted of offences under the Act.6

(7) The departmental penalties under section 23(1) should be increased to five times the amount of foreign exchange involved (instead of three times, as at present).7

(8) Another new section-section 23CCC-should be increased to give the court power to order the stoppage of a particular business on second conviction.8

(9) Another new section-section 23FF-should be inserted to provide that any tax, penalty etc. due under the Act may be recovered by a Magistrate as if it was a fine imposed by him.'9

(10) Under another new section-section 23FFF-preparation to commit an offence under the Act should be punished in certain circumstances.10

(11) Section 24A of the Act should be extended to foreign documents and to documents seized under other laws, and to cases where the document was seized from a person other than the accused.11

(12) Guidelines should be laid down as to the cases in which prosecutions may be instituted under the Foreign Exchange Act.12

(13) There should be no hesitation in exercising the power impound or revoke a passport under section 10(3), Passports Act,13 in serious cases under the Foreign Exchange Act.

1. Para. 15.36H.

2. Para. 15.36U.

3. Para. 15.31.

4. Para. 15.33.

5. Para. 15.18.

6. Para. 8.1.

7. Para. 15.9.

8. Para. 15.21.

9. Para. 15.27.

10. Para. 15.20.

11. Paras. 12.2 to 12.4 and 15.30.

12. Para. 15.11.

13. Para. 15.35.