Section 124 — Offences by companies.

Offences by companies.—(1) If the person committing an offence under this Act is a company, 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. 1. Subs. by Act 18 of 2023, s. 2 and Sch. for certain words (w.e.f. 01-08-2024). 2. Subs. by s. 2 and Sch., ibid., for the long line (w.e.f. 01-08-2024). 3. Subs. by s. 2 and Sch., ibid., for certain words (w.e.f. 01-08-2024). 4. Subs. by s. 2 and Sch., ibid., for certain words (w.e.f. 01-08-2024). 58 (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 that the commission of the offence 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 also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,— (a) “company” means any 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. 1[124A. Adjudication of penalties.—The Controller may, by an order, authorise an officer referred to in section 73, to be the adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry and imposing penalty under the provisions of this Act, in the manner as may be prescribed, after giving the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

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