Finance (No. 2) Act 1945

41 Effect of breach of undertakings, etc..

(1) Subject to the provisions of the next following section, if—

(a) the whole or any part of the said net amount, is dealt with by any person in breach of an undertaking given by him or which, by virtue of the last preceding section is binding upon him; or

(b) any breach is committed by any person of an under taking given by him, or binding on him as aforesaid, to produce documents or information required to be produced in connection with the whole or any part of the said net amount; or

(c) the trade or business specified in any such under taking as aforesaid is permanently discontinued within the five years next following the date of the giving of the undertaking, and, at .the date of the discontinuance, the whole or any part of the said net amount has not been used for developing or re-equipping the trade or business,

the said net amount or that part thereof, as the case may be, shall be recoverable from the person who committed the breach of the undertaking or, as the case may be, the person who was carrying on the trade or business immediately before the discontinuance thereof, as a debt due to the Crown:

Provided that no sum shall be recoverable under this subsection by reason of the permanent discontinuance of the trade or business if the like undertakings and authorities are given and approved in connection with the use of that sum as would be required to be given and approved if that sum were the net amount of a post-war refund in respect of the original trade or business payable to the person who was carrying on the specified trade or business immediately before the discontinuance, and the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act, and of the next following section shall, with the necessary adaptations, have effect accordingly in relation to those undertakings and authorities, so, however, that the references in the said provisions to the five years next following the date of the giving of the undertaking shall be construed as references to the five years next following the date of the giving of the undertaking given in connection with the original refund.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, where any sum becomes recoverable under this section from any body corporate by reason of the breach of any undertaking given by or binding on that body corporate, the body corporate and every person who, when the breach was committed, was, or was purporting to act as, a director of the body corporate, shall be jointly and severally liable to the Crown for that sum:

Provided that no person shall be under any liability under this subsection by reason that he was or purported to act as a director of a body corporate, if he proves that the breach in question was committed without his knowledge or against his will and that, in either case, he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the breach.