Central

Section 26 of The Rubber Act, 1947

1[(1)] If any person--

(a)contravenes any provision of this Act, other than section 11 or section 13, or any rule made under this Act, or
(b)in any report or return to be furnished under this Act, makes any statement which is false and which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, or
(c)obstructs any officer of the Board in the discharge of any duty imposed on or entrusted to him by or under this Act, or
(d)having the control or custody of any account book or other record, fails to produce such book or record when required by any authorised officer to do so, he shall be 2[liable to penalty which may extend to fifty thousand rupees.] 3[(2) If the person committing any offence under sub-section (1) is 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.

(3)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), where an offence under sub-section (1) 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 or 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--
1. (a)"company", means any body corporate, and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and
2. (b)"director" in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.]

Summary

Breaking the law, lying on official returns, or blocking a Rubber Board officer leads to a penalty.
The maximum fine for these general offences is fifty thousand rupees.
Offences related to illegal importing/exporting or violating price limits are handled differently and are not punished under this specific section.
If a company breaks the law, the person in charge is personally responsible, unless they can prove they did not know about the crime or tried hard to stop it.
A company director or manager is also guilty if they secretly agreed to the crime or ignored it through neglect.

Practical examples

1An estate owner refuses to show their accounting records to an authorized inspector who visits their property, resulting in a penalty of 40,000 rupees.

2A rubber processing company submits a forged document claiming they bought less rubber than they actually did; the general manager is fined because he signed the false document knowing it was a lie.

FAQ

1. What is the highest fine someone can get under this section?

The penalty can go up to fifty thousand rupees.

2. If I illegally export rubber, am I punished under this specific section?

No, this section clearly excludes Section 11, which covers imports and exports.

3. If my company breaks a rule but I was away on vacation and had no idea, am I still guilty?

You can avoid punishment if you prove the offence happened without your knowledge or that you used all due diligence to prevent it.

Test yourself

Q1.Under Section 26 of The Rubber Act, 1947, what is the maximum financial penalty a person can face for submitting a false return?

Q2.Under Section 26 of The Rubber Act, 1947, if a dealer violates the Central Government's order fixing maximum rubber prices under Section 13, does this fifty thousand rupee penalty apply?

Q3.Under Section 26 of The Rubber Act, 1947, someone secretly smuggles rubber out of the country against the import/export rules of Section 11. Can they be charged under Section 26 for this?

Q4.Under Section 26 of The Rubber Act, 1947, how can a person in charge of a company defend themselves if their company commits an offence?

Q5.Under Section 26 of The Rubber Act, 1947, what happens if a company manager knew about the crime and simply turned a blind eye to it through neglect?

Q6.Under Section 26 of The Rubber Act, 1947, which of the following acts is directly listed as an offence?

25APreviousSection 25A Power to make regulations.26ANextSection 26A Compounding of offences.

←Section 25A Section 26A→