Report No. 47
XIV. Imports and Exports Control Act, 1947.
Section to be inserted in the Imports and Exports Control Act.1
"5A. False statements.- If any person
(i) when required, by any order made under this Act to make any statement or furnish, any information, makes any statement or furnishes any information which is false in any material particular and which he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be false, or does not believe to be true; or
(ii) makes any such statement as aforesaid in any book, account, record, declaration, return or other document which he is required by any such order to maintain or furnish, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which, may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both."
1. See para. 15.97 of the Report.
New Section to be inserted in the Imports and Exports Act1.
5B. Offences by companies.- (1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company, for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, 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 provided in this Act 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) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to, any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, secretary, manager or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly2.
Explanation 1.-For the purposes of this section-
(a) 'company' means any body corporate and includes a firm, and other association of individuals; and
(b) 'director', in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
Explanation 2.-Where a person, being the Chairman or Managing Director of a company, has, on behalf of the company, signed an application for license under this Act, any contravention of the conditions of that license shall, so long as such person holds an office in the company, be conclusively presumed to have been committed with his consent or connivance.
Explanation 3.-Where an application for license under this Act is signed by an officer of a company other than the Chairman or Managing Director, it shall, for the purposes of, this section, be deemed to have been signed also by the Chairman and Managing Director of the company.
New section
In the Imports and Exports (Control) act, 1947, a provision similar to section 139, Customs Act as proposed to be revised in this Report, should be inserted.3-4
1. See paras. 8.12 and 8.13 of the Report.
2. The main provision and Explanation 1 follow the usual provision in Central Acts.
3. The actual section has not been drafted.
4. Para. 12.5 of the Report.
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