(1) Where an offence under the Act has been committed by a company, every person who at the time when 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 Application of fines and charges.
Penalties.
Offences by companies.
38 [Act No.36 of 2001] knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such an offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section
(1), wherein 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, manager, secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
For the purposes of this section,-
(a) “Company” means a body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and
(b) “Director” in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.
71. The Infrastructure Authority and the Conciliation Board may for reasons to be recorded in writing either before or after the institution of proceedings compound any offence relating to contravention of any provisions of the Act or order made by it.