(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, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any 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 officer of the company, such officer of the company shall 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, co-operative society or other association of individuals;
(b) “officer of the company” means the Managing Director, Director, Managing Agent, Secretary, Treasurer or Manager of the company and includes the office bearers of a firm, co-operative society or other association of individuals.