BNS Section 349: Selling goods marked with a counterfeit property mark (formerly IPC 486)

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024

BNS 349: Selling goods marked with a counterfeit property mark

From 1 July 2024

Whoever sells, or exposes, or has in possession for sale, any goods or things with a counterfeit property mark affixed to or impressed upon the same or to or upon any case, package or other receptacle in which such goods are contained, shall, unless he proves—

(a) that, having taken all reasonable precautions against committing an offence against this section, he had at the time of the commission of the alleged offence no reason to suspect the genuineness of the mark; and

(b) that, on demand made by or on behalf of the prosecutor, he gave all the information in his power with respect to the persons from whom he obtained such goods or things; or

(c) that otherwise he had acted innocently, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

What it replaced in the IPC

BNS 349 ← IPC 486 · Selling goods marked with a counterfeit property markNo change

BPR&D's comparison records no change in the text, only a new number.

Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).

[Whoever sells, or exposes, or has has in possession for sale, any goods or things with a counterfeit property mark] affixed to or impressed upon the same or to or upon any case, package or other receptacle in which such goods are contained, shall, unless he proves

(a) that, having taken all reasonable precautions against committing an offence against this section, he had at the time of the commission of the alleged offence no reason to suspect the genuineness of the mark, and

(b) that, on demand made by or on behalf of the prosecutor, he gave all the information in his power with respect to the persons from whom he obtained such goods or things, or

(c) that otherwise he had acted innocently, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

IPC 486 on its own page →

Which one applies

An offence is governed by the law in force when it was committed. An offence committed before 1 July 2024 is charged and punished under the IPC; one committed on or after that date, under the BNS. Section 358 of the BNS, which repeals the IPC, preserves every liability and proceeding already incurred under it.

Read BNS section 358 →

Judgments decided under IPC 486

They remain the law on IPC 486. Where the provision changed in the move, read what changed before relying on one for an offence after 1 July 2024.

Sources

BPR&D is the Bureau of Police Research & Development (Ministry of Home Affairs); NCRB the National Crime Records Bureau. Their correspondence tables are training aids, not law. This page is general information, not legal advice on any case; the bare Acts as published by the Government of India are the authority.