Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
(1) If the owners or occupiers of low-risk buildings are discovered to have misrepresented the facts or misled the authority at any point in the application process for Final Fire Safety Certificate or the renewal thereof, the Fire Officer shall take the following actions against them, namely:- (i) At the first instance, the Fire Officer shall issue an order Penalty for failure to comply with the notice issued after inspection of a building under construction. Penalty for obtaining Final Fire Safety Certificate by misrepresenting the facts or misleading the authority. PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ.(EXTRA), NOVEMBER 26, 2024 (AGHN 5, 1946 SAKA) 75 levying a fine of up to ten thousand rupees and cancelling the Final Fire Safety Certificate. The Fire Officer shall also issue a notice directing the owners or occupiers to apply and obtain a fresh Final Fire Safety Certificate within forty-five days. The notice shall specify that the failure to do so shall result in the sealing of the building. (ii) In case the owners or occupiers fail to obtain a Final Fire Safety Certificate within forty-five days from the issuance of notice under clause (i), the Fire Officer shall issue an order to seal the building after giving a notice of twenty-four hours. After sealing the building, the Fire Officer shall give a report to the Director or Head of the local authority, in such manner, as may be prescribed, declaring that the building under question has been sealed. (2) If the owners or occupiers of medium-risk buildings are discovered to have misrepresented the facts or misled the authority at any point in the application process for Final Fire Safety Certificate or the renewal thereof, the Fire Officer shall take the following actions against them, namely:- (i) At the first instance, the Fire Officer shall issue an order levying a fine of up to fifteen thousand rupees and cancelling the Fire Safety Certificate. The Fire Officer shall also issue a notice directing the owners or occupiers to apply and obtain a fresh Fire Safety Certificate within forty-five days. The notice shall specify that the failure to do so shall result in the sealing of the building. (ii) In case the owners or occupiers fail to obtain a Final Fire Safety Certificate within forty-five days from the issuance of notice under clause (i), the Fire Officer shall issue an order to seal the building after giving a notice of twenty-four hours. After sealing the building, the Fire Officer shall give a report to the Director, in such manner, as may be prescribed, declaring that the building under question has been sealed. (3) If the owners or occupiers of high-risk buildings, except buildings dealing with explosives, dangerous or poisonous substances are discovered to have misrepresented the facts or misled the authority at any point in the application process for Final Fire Safety Certificate or the renewal thereof, the PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ.(EXTRA), NOVEMBER 26, 2024 (AGHN 5, 1946 SAKA) 76 Fire Officer shall take the following actions against them, namely:- (i) At the first instance, the Fire Officer shall issue an order levying a fine of up to twenty-five thousand rupees and cancelling the Fire Safety Certificate. The Fire Officer shall also issue a notice directing the owners or occupiers to apply and obtain a fresh Fire Safety Certificate within forty-five days. The notice shall specify that the failure to do so shall result in the sealing of the building. (ii) In case the owners or occupiers fail to obtain a Final Fire Safety Certificate within forty-five days from the issuance of notice under clause (i), the Fire Officer shall issue an order to seal the building after giving a notice of twenty-four hours. After sealing the building, the Fire Officer shall give a report to the Director or the local authority, in such manner, as may be prescribed, declaring that the building under question has been sealed. (iii) In case of tampering with the seal, the owners or occupiers shall be imprisoned for a term which may extend up to six months. (4) In case of buildings dealing with explosives, dangerous or poisonous substances, the Fire Officer shall issue an order levying a fine of up to twenty- five thousand rupees and cancelling the Fire Safety Certificate and if required sealing of the operations till the time safety compliances are ensured to be provided by the owner or occupier to the satisfaction of the Fire Officer. (5) Where misrepresentation within the meaning of this section is made with respect to a building, and the Qualified Agency either caused or participated in the misrepresentation to be made, the Fire Officer shall take the following action against the Qualified Agency, namely:- (i) Where the misrepresentation, as well as the Qualified Agency’s involvement in causing the misrepresentation, is discovered in any circumstance, other than the outbreak of a fire or the investigation made after a fire, the Qualified Agency shall be fined three thousand rupees for each instance of misrepresentation so discovered. (ii) In case there is an outbreak of fire in the building and the cause of fire is attributable to the misrepresentation, and any property, whether movable or immovable, is damaged to the PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ.(EXTRA), NOVEMBER 26, 2024 (AGHN 5, 1946 SAKA) 77 point of it being rendered unusable as a result of the damage, the Fire Officer shall recommend to the Director that the license of the Qualified Agency be revoked for a period of two years from the date on which the fire first broke out. The Director, after confirming that the fire in the building caused damage that rendered some property unusable as a result, shall revoke the license. (iii) In case there is an outbreak of fire in the building and the cause of fire is attributable to the misrepresentation, and the fire causes the loss of life or grievous hurt to any person, the Qualified Agency shall, in addition to being liable for revocation of license in accordance with clause (ii), be also liable to be imprisoned for a term which may extend to one year. Explanation: For the purposes of this section, the term ‘grievous hurt’ shall have the same meaning as under section 116 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Central Act 45 of 2023).