Companies Act, 1990
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Liability of officers of company to penalty where proper books of account not kept. |
203.—(1) If— | |
(a) a company that is being wound up and that is unable to pay all of its debts, has contravened section 202 , and | ||
(b) the court considers that such contravention has contributed to the company's inability to pay all of its debts or has resulted in substantial uncertainty as to the assets and liabilities of the company or has substantially impeded the orderly winding up thereof, | ||
every officer of the company who is in default shall be guilty of an offence and liable— | ||
(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both, or | ||
(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. | ||
(2) In a prosecution for an offence under this section it shall be a defence for the person charged with the offence to show that— | ||
(a) he took all reasonable steps to secure compliance by the company with section 202 , or | ||
(b) he had reasonable grounds for believing and did believe that a competent and reliable person, acting under the supervision or control of a director of the company who has been formally allocated such responsibility, was charged with the duty of ensuring that that section was complied with and was in a position to discharge that duty. |