Offences and fines

(1) Whoever,- (a) keeps in his possession or control any motor vehicle, without having paid the amount of tax, due in accordance with the provisions of this Act in respect of such vehicle; or (b) fails to stop the motor vehicle when required to do so or obstructs an officer in the exercise of the powers conferred by section 13, shall on conviction be punishable for the first offence with fine which shall not be less than Rs. 20,000 and which may extend to Rs. 50,000 and for any subsequent offence with fine which shall not be less than Rs. 1,00,000 and which may extend to Rs. 2,00,000. (2) When any 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, 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. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), where an offence punishable under this Act has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any secretary, director, manager, or other officer of the company, such secretary, director, manager, 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 corporate body and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and (b) "Director" in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.