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[26. Penalty.—(1) If any person fails to comply with the provisions of clause (h) or clause (i) or
clause (k) or clause (l) of section 14 or clause (c) or clause (h) of section 15, he shall be liable to a penalty
which shall not exceed ten lakh rupees:
Provided that in the case of continuing failures, the person shall be liable to an additional penalty
which may extend to ten thousand rupees for every day during which such failures continue.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other Act for the time being in force, if any
person fails to comply with the provisions of clauses (c) and (d) of section 14, he shall in addition to the
penalty of ten lakh rupees, be also liable to pay additional penalty which shall not exceed five thousand
rupees per appliance or equipment in relation to which the non-compliance has occurred, but shall not be
lower than two thousand rupees:
Provided that where such non-compliance relates to any industrial unit or vessel, he shall also be
liable to an additional penalty which shall not exceed twice the price of every metric ton of oil equivalent
consumed in excess of the prescribed norms:
Provided further that if the manufacturer of a vehicle fails to comply with the fuel consumption
norms, he shall also be liable to pay an additional penalty per unit of vehicles sold in the corresponding
year, as follows, namely:—
(i) twenty-five thousand rupees per vehicle for non-compliance of norms up to 0.2 litres per 100
kms;
(ii) fifty thousand rupees per vehicle for non-compliance of norms above 0.2 litres per 100 kms.
(3) If any person fails to comply with the directions issued under clauses (n) and (x) of section 14, he
shall be liable to a penalty which shall not exceed ten lakh rupees for each such failure:
Provided that he shall also be liable to an additional penalty which shall not exceed twice the price of
every metric ton of oil equivalent prescribed under this Act, which is in excess of the prescribed norms.
(4) If a person fails to comply with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 13A or fails to provide
any information under section 52, he shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to fifty thousand
rupees on first such non-compliance or failure:
Provided that for every subsequent non-compliance or failure, he shall be liable to pay an additional
penalty which shall not exceed ten thousand rupees per day of such non-compliance or failure.
(5) Any amount payable under this section, if not paid, may be recovered as if it were an arrear of
land revenue.]
27. Power to adjudicate.—(1) For the purpose of adjudging under section 26, the State Commission
shall appoint any of its members to be an adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry in such manner as
1. Subs. by Act 19 of 2022, s. 12, for section 26 (w.e.f. 1-1-2023).
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may be prescribed by the Central Government, after giving any person concerned a reasonable
opportunity of being heard for the purpose of imposing any penalty.
(2) While holding an inquiry, the adjudicating officer shall have power to summon and enforce the
attendance of any person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case to give evidence or
produce any document which in the opinion of the adjudicating officer, may be useful for or relevant to
the subject-matter of the inquiry, and if, on such inquiry, he is satisfied that the person has failed to
comply with the provisions of any of the clauses of the sections specified in section 26, he may impose
such penalty as he thinks fit in accordance with the provisions of any of those clauses of that section:
Provided that where a State Commission has not been established in a State, the Government of that
State shall appoint any of its officer not below the rank equivalent to a Secretary dealing with legal affairs
in that State to be an adjudicating officer for the purposes of this section and such officer shall cease to be
an adjudicating officer immediately on the appointment of an adjudicating officer by the State
Commission on its establishment in that State:
Provided further that where an adjudicating officer appointed by a State Government ceased to be an
adjudicating officer, he shall transfer to the adjudicating officer appointed by the State Commission all
matters being adjudicated by him and thereafter the adjudicating officer appointed by the State
Commission shall adjudicate the penalties on such matters.
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[27A. Power of State Commission to make regulations.—(1) The State Commission may, by
notification, make regulations for discharging its functions under this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations may
provide for—
(a) the manner of making application before the State Commission and the fee payable;
(b) any other matter which is to be, or may be, provided by regulations by the State Commission
for the purposes of its function:
Provided that every regulation made by the State Commission under this section shall be laid, as
soon as may be after it is made, before each House of the State Legislature where it consists of two
Houses, or where such Legislature consists of one House, before that House.]
28. Factors to be taken into account by adjudicating officer.—While adjudicating the quantum of
penalty under section 26, the adjudicating officer shall have due regard to the following factors,
namely:—
(a) the amount of disproportionate gain or unfair advantage, wherever quantifiable, made as a
result of the default;
(b) the repetitive nature of the default.
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[(c) the loss caused to a consumer and amount of compensation thereof.]
29. Civil court not to have jurisdiction.—No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit
or proceeding in respect of any matter which an adjudicating officer appointed under this Act or the
Appellate Tribunal is empowered by or under this Act to determine and no injunction shall be granted by
any court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any power
conferred by or under this Act.