BNS Section 350: Making A False Mark Upon Any Receptacle Containing Goods

Definition of BNS Section 350

Section 350 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 states:

(1) Whoever makes any false mark upon any case, package or other receptacle containing goods, in a manner reasonably calculated to cause any public servant or any other person to believe that such receptacle contains goods which it does not contain or that it does not contain goods which it does contain, or that the goods contained in such receptacle are of a nature or quality different from the real nature or quality thereof, shall, unless he proves that he acted without intent to defraud, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

(2) Whoever makes use of any false mark in any manner prohibited under sub-section (1) shall, unless he proves that he acted without intent to defraud, be punished as if he had committed the offence under sub-section (1).

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 350

This section is applicable to any person within the sovereign borders of India, whether citizen, resident or otherwise. It deals with the offence of making false property marks on a receptacle containing goods. Let us break down the section to get a better understanding of it.

• Offence

  This section deals with making false property marks on receptacles, packages or containers, especially of the mark is made to falsely indicate the contents of the receptacle, package or container.A property mark is a seal or insignia that is imprinted on movable property by the owner to demonstrate ownership of the product. Such marks are usually very unique and intricate so as to avoid counterfeiting. And modern property marks are applied by some sort of unique equipment or device that is not available in the market. This is also done to mitigate any counterfeiting action.
  
  When a person makes a false mark on a receptacle, it can have three outcomes.
  
  It indicates that such receptacle contains goods which it does not contain - Meaning that the receptacle does not contain the product or item as indicated by the mark on the package.
  It indicates that it does not contain goods which it does contain - That the mark indicates that the package does not contain a specific item when in reality, the package does contain such an item.
  It indicates that the goods contained in such receptacle are of a nature or quality different from the real nature or quality thereof - That the mark indicates the goods or items in the package to be of a certain quality when in reality the package does not contain items of that quality.
  Any person found guilty of making a mark with the above consequences shall be considered an offender under this section.
  
  Subsection (2) further clarifies that if a person is aware of such a false mark on a package and still makes use of such package to deceive or defraud someone, then he or she will be treated with the same culpability as the offence described in Subsection (1).

• Punishment

  Any person found guilty of making misleading false marks on receptacles containing any property shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

• Illustration

  X sells edible goods marked as vegetarian. However, some of the goods contain animal fat. X deliberately hides this information in order to boost sales. X is an offender under Section 350.
  
  The above actions may not be an offence under this section if:

  • The offender is forced or coerced into performing the offence
  • The offender is a minor or not of sane mind.

• However, there may be other sections under the BNS under which the above actions can be prosecuted and while they may be disqualified under the provisions of this section, such actions will still be punishable under the provisions of those respective sections of the BNS.

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