Bill replaces imprisonment with fines in multiple acts

It replaces many criminal penalties with financial penalties or warnings and updates procedural rules for enforcement.

Who it concerns: The Bill affects entities and individuals subject to the specific laws listed in the Schedule, including non-banking financial companies, drug and cosmetics manufacturers, silk board members, road transport corporations, tea and coir industry operators, and residents or businesses in Delhi (including property owners, vehicle owners, and those subject to municipal regulations).

What the bill does

• Fines and penalties under the amended enactments will be increased by 10% of the minimum amount every three years.
• The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 is amended to replace 'Penalties' with 'Offences' in certain sections and introduces specific penalties for non-banking financial companies failing to produce documents or answer questions.
• The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 is amended to remove imprisonment for certain offences, replacing it with a fine of not less than thirty thousand rupees.
• The Central Silk Board Act, 1948 is amended to replace imprisonment with a warning for first-time offences and a penalty of 25,000 to 1,00,000 rupees for repeated offences, and introduces an adjudicating officer and appellate authority for penalty disputes.
• The Road Transport Corporations Act, 1950 is amended to replace 'fine' with 'penalty' in specific sections.
• The Tea Act, 1953 is amended to replace fines with a warning for first-time contraventions and a penalty up to one lakh rupees for subsequent ones, and updates references to adjudicating officers.
• Sections 20 and 21 of the Coir Industry Act, 1953 are omitted.
• The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 undergoes extensive amendments, including limiting the time for tax assessments to seven years, replacing 'Administrator' with 'District Judge' for certain appeals, omitting several sections related to penalties and procedures, and introducing new sections for penalty adjudication and appeals.
• The Bill includes a savings clause stating that amendments do not affect rights, liabilities, or proceedings already acquired or incurred before the Act's commencement.
• The Central Government is given the power to remove difficulties in implementing the amendments for a period of two years.

Also in the document

• The Bill explicitly aims to 'decriminalise' offences by replacing imprisonment with fines or penalties in several acts.
• It introduces or expands the role of 'adjudicating officers' and 'appellate authorities' for resolving penalty disputes in multiple acts.
• The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act amendments include a specific provision that no assessment for an assessment year shall be made after the lapse of seven years from the close of that year.
• The Bill references the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, replacing references to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.