INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vijayendra Pratap Singh, Asif Ahmed, Bhanu Jindal and Khushi Mittal, AZB & Partners
maintain a record of all transactions, documents evi - dencing the identity of its clients and beneficial own - ers as well as account files and business correspond - ence relating to its clients for a period of five years from the date of transaction, or five years after the end of the business relationship or close of the account, whichever is later. A recent amendment has expanded the definition of “reporting entity” under the PMLA to include chartered accountants, company secretaries, certified management accountants and virtual digital asset service providers (VDASPs) for certain transac - tions. 3.7 Cartels and Criminal Competition Law Cartelisation and anti-competitive practices are regu - lated by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) constituted under the Competition Act, 2002 (Com - petition Act), which provides for civil penalties and only provides for criminal liability in cases of non- compliance with orders/directions issued under the Competition Act. Under the Competition Act, agreements relating to the production, supply, distribution, storage, acquisi - tion or control of goods, or provision of services, that cause or are likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India are prohibited and void. An enterprise imposing unfair or discriminatory condi - tions or prices (including predatory pricing) in the pur - chase or sale of goods or services would be regarded as abusing its dominant position. The CCI may impose a penalty of up to 10% of the average turnover of the enterprise for the three pre - ceding financial years. In case of an anti-competitive agreement entered into by a cartel, the CCI may impose a penalty of up to three times its profit for each year of the continuance of such agreement or 10% of its turnover for each year of the continuance of such agreement, whichever is higher. Further, failure to comply with the orders/directions of the CCI is punishable with a fine of up to INR100,000 for each day of non-compliance, subject to a maxi - mum of INR10 million. Failure to comply with the orders/directions or failure to pay the fine is punish -
able with imprisonment for up to three years, a fine of up to INR250 million, or both. The CCI can also recover compensation from any enterprise for any loss or damage caused due to vio - lations of directions issued by the CCI or contraven - tion of any decision/order of the CCI. The appellate tribunal, under Section 53Q of the Competition Act, has similar powers. 3.8 Consumer Criminal Law Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (CPA), which deals with consumer protection in India: • the offence of false or misleading advertisement prejudicial to the interest of consumers is punish - able with imprisonment for up to two years and a fine of up to INR1 million – every subsequent offence is punishable with imprisonment for up to five years and a fine of up to INR5 million; and • the offence of manufacturing products containing adulterants, for sale or storing, selling or distribut - ing or importing, is punishable with imprisonment for a term of six months to life, along with a fine ranging from INR100,000 to INR1 million, depend - ing on the nature of the injury caused. Non-compliance with orders of the central authority under the CPA is punishable with imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to INR2 million, or both. 3.9 Cybercrimes, Computer Fraud and Protection of Company Secrets Cybercrimes are primarily governed by the Informa - tion Technology Act, 2000 (the “InTech Act”). The BNS also provides for general offences – such as theft and criminal breach of trust – which could be invoked in relation to cyber offences. Section 111 of BNS, for the first time, provides for cybercrimes as part of a larger offence of “organised crime”. The BNS, however, does not define “cyber - crimes”. Section 1 (5) of the BNS provides for extraterrito - rial jurisdiction to prosecute any person within and beyond India committing an offence targeting a com - puter resource located in India. Section 48 of the BNS
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