Section-447: Punishment for Fraud

CHAPTER XXIX

MISCELLANEOUS

Punishment for Fraud.                                                                                                                                                                               Notified Date of Section: 12/09/2013

447. Without prejudice to any liability including repayment of any debt under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, any person who is found to be guilty of fraud ^1_[involving an amount of at least ten lakh rupees or one per cent. of the turnover of the company, whichever is lower] shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than the amount involved in the fraud, but which may extend to three times the amount involved in the fraud:

Provided that where the fraud in question involves public interest, the term of imprisonment shall not be less than three years.

Provided further that where the fraud involves an amount less than ten lakh rupees or one per cent. of the turnover of the company, whichever is lower, and does not involve public interest, any person guilty of such fraud shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to fifty lakh rupees or with both.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section—
(i) “fraud” in relation to affairs of a company or any body corporate, includes any act, omission, concealment of any fact or abuse of position committed by any person or any other person with the connivance in any manner, with intent to deceive, to gain undue advantage from, or to injure the interests of, the company or its shareholders or its creditors or any other person, whether or not there is any wrongful gain or wrongful loss;
(ii) “wrongful gain” means the gain by unlawful means of property to which the person gaining is not legally entitled;
(iii) “wrongful loss” means the loss by unlawful means of property to which the person losing is legally entitled.

Amendments 

1.Inserted by The Companies (Amendment)Act,2017 :- Amendment effective from 9th february 2018

2.Substituted by the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance,2018 dated 02.11.2018

In section 447 of the principal Act, in the second proviso, for the words “twenty lakh rupees”, the words “fifty lakh rupees” shall be substituted.

3.Substituted by the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance,2019 dated 12.01.2019    [Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 is repealed on 12th January 2019] 

4. Substituted by the Companies (Amendment) Act,2019 -: Effective From 02nd November 2018  [Companies (Amendment) Second Ordinance 2019 is repealed on 31st July 2019]