Amendment of section 147.
44. In section 147 of the principal Act,-
(i) in sub-section (2),-
(a) after the words "five lakh rupees", the words "or four times the remuneration of the auditor, whichever is less" shall be inserted;
(b) in the proviso, for the words "and with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to twenty-five lakh rupees", the words "and with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to twenty-five lakh rupees or eight times the remuneration of the auditor, whichever is less" shall be substituted;
(ii) in sub-section (3), in clause (ii), for the words "or to any other persons", the words "or to members or creditors of the company" shall be substituted;
(iii) in sub-section (5), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-
"Provided that in case of criminal liability of an audit firm, in respect of liability other than fine, the concerned partner or partners, who acted in a fraudulent manner or abetted or, as the case may be, colluded in any fraud shall only be liable.".
