law: Companies Act, 2013 
  441.
  
    Compounding
  
  of certain offences.
  1.      Notwithstanding
  
  anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, any offence
  
  punishable under this Act (whether committed by a company or any officer
  
  thereof) with fine only, may, either before or after the institution of any
  
  prosecution, be compounded by—
  a.     
  
    the
  
  Tribunal; or
  b.    
  
    where
  
  the maximum amount of fine which may be imposed for such offence does not
  
  exceed five lakh rupees, by the Regional Director or any officer authorised by
  
  the Central Government, on payment or credit, by the company or, as the case
  
  may be, the officer, to the Central Government of such sum as that Tribunal or
  
  the Regional Director or any officer authorized by the Central Government, as
  
  the case may be, may specify:
  Provided
  
  that the sum so specified shall not, in any case, exceed the maximum amount of
  
  the fine which may be imposed for the offence so compounded:
  Provided
  
  further that in specifying the sum required to be paid or credited for the
  
  compounding of an offence under this sub-section, the sum, if any, paid by way
  
  of additional fee under sub-section (2 ) of section 403 shall be taken
  
  into account:
  Provided
  
  also that any offence covered under this sub-section by any company or its
  
  officer shall not be compounded if the investigation against such company has
  
  been initiated or is pending under this Act.
  1.     
  2.      Nothing in
  
  sub-section (1 ) shall apply to an offence committed by a company or its
  
  officer within a period of three years from the date on which a similar offence
  
  committed by it or him was compounded under this section.
  Explanation.— For the purposes of
  
  this section,—
  a.     
  
    any
  
  second or subsequent offence committed after the expiry of a period of three
  
  years from the date on which the offence was previously compounded, shall be
  
  deemed to be a first offence;
  b.    
  
    “Regional
  
  Director” means a person appointed by the Central Government as a Regional
  
  Director for the purposes of this Act.
  1.     
  2.     
  3.     
  a.     
  
    Every
  
  application for the compounding of an offence shall be made to the Registrar
  
  who shall forward the same, together with his comments thereon, to the Tribunal
  
  or the Regional Director or any officer authorised by the Central Government,
  
  as the case may be.
  b.    
  
    Where
  
  any offence is compounded under this section, whether before or after the
  
  institution of any prosecution, an intimation thereof shall be given by the
  
  company to the Registrar within seven days from the date on which the offence
  
  is so compounded.
  c.     
  
    Where
  
  any offence is compounded before the institution of any prosecution, no
  
  prosecution shall be instituted in relation to such offence, either by the
  
  Registrar or by any shareholder of the company or by any person authorised by
  
  the Central Government against the offender in relation to whom the offence is
  
  so compounded.
  d.    
  
    Where
  
  the compounding of any offence is made after the institution of any
  
  prosecution, such compounding shall be brought by the Registrar in writing, to
  
  the notice of the court in which the prosecution is pending and on such notice
  
  of the compounding of the offence being given, the company or its officer in
  
  relation to whom the offence is so compounded shall be discharged.
  1.     
  2.     
  3.     
  4.      The Tribunal or the
  
  Regional Director or any officer authorised by the Central Government, as the
  
  case may be, while dealing with a proposal for the compounding of an offence
  
  for a default in compliance with any provision of this Act which requires a
  
  company or its officer to file or register with, or deliver or send to, the
  
  Registrar any return, account or other document, may direct, by an order, if it
  
  or he thinks fit to do so, any officer or other employee of the company to file
  
  or register with, or on payment of the fee, and the additional fee, required to
  
  be paid under section 403, such return, account or other document within such
  
  time as may be specified in the order.
  5.      Any officer or other
  
  employee of the company who fails to comply with any order made by the Tribunal
  
  or the Regional Director or any officer authorised by the Central Government
  
  under sub-section (4 ) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term
  
  which may extend to six months, or with fine not exceeding one lakh rupees, or
  
  with both.
  6.      Notwithstanding
  
  anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,—
  a.     
  
    any
  
  offence which is punishable under this Act, with imprisonment or fine, or with
  
  imprisonment or fine or with both, shall be compoundable with the permission of
  
  the Special Court, in accordance with the procedure laid down in that Act for
  
  compounding of offences;
  b.    
  
    any
  
  offence which is punishable under this Act with imprisonment only or with
  
  imprisonment and also with fine shall not be compoundable.
  1.     
  2.     
  3.     
  4.     
  5.     
  6.     
  7.      No offence specified
  
  in this section shall be compounded except under and in accordance with the
  
  provisions of this section.