Offences and penalties

(1) Any person who– (a) without lawful excuse uses or advertises any remises as a hotel or tourist accommodation when such premises are not registered or when there is not in force a license granted to him by the Registrar authorizing him to use such premises for the business of a hotel or tourist (b) uses or displays the word “registered” or “licensed” along with the name, title or description of any premises purporting to be a hotel or tourist accommodation when such premises and the business are not registered and/or licensed; (c) having been granted a licence to use any premises for the business of a hotel or tourist accommodation, uses such premises otherwise than in accordance with the terms and conditions of such licence; (d) fraudulently procures or attempts to procure the registration and licensing of any premises as a hotel or tourist accommodation; 29 (e) continues to operate or accommodation after the licence has been cancelled; (f) in connection with any fees, accommodation charges or any tax payable thereon, makes any statement which is false in a material particular, or with intent to evade any of the provisions of this Act, produces or makes use of or furnishes any book, record, account, return or other document which is false in any material particular; (g) forges or falsifies any book of account, register or other book required to be maintained under this Act; (h) makes a false statement in a material particular in an application for registration of a hotel or (i) obstructs, prevents or otherwise hinders the entry into any hotel or tourist accommodation of the Registrar or any person authorised by him to carry out any examination, inspection, scrutiny or check therein, or assaults or otherwise hinders any such officer in the performance of his duties under this Act; or (j) fails to comply with any requirements of this Act or any regulations made thereunder or with any lawful direction given to such person by the Registrar, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars or to 30 imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to both such fine and term of imprisonment. (2) Any registration or licence which has been obtained fraudulently or by means of fraudulent representation shall be invalid and of no effect. (3) Where such offence is continued after conviction, such person shall be liable in respect of each day during which such offence continues to a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars. (4) Any offence against the provisions of this Act committed by any servant or agent of the proprietor shall be deemed to be an offence committed by that proprietor, unless he establishes that such offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of that (5) Where a person by whom an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder is committed is a body corporate, every person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a director, general manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or was purporting to act in any such capacity shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence unless he proves that the offence was committed without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of that offence as he ought to have exercised, having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.