IPC · Chapter XVIII · Of offences relating to documents and to property marks

IPC section 475 in the BNS

IPC 475BNS 342(1)

IPC section 475, “Counterfeiting device or mark used for authenticating documents described in section 467, or possessing counterfeit marked material”, is now BNS section 342(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From IPC 475 to BNS 342

Now sub-section (1) of BNS section 342, with the same offence and punishment.

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 475 Counterfeiting device or mark used for authenticating documents described in section 467, or possessing counterfeit marked material

Whoever counterfeits upon, or in the substance of, any material, any device or mark used for the purpose of authenticating any document described in section 467 of this Code, intending that such device or mark shall be used for the purpose of giving the appearance of authenticity to any document then forged or thereafter to be forged on such material, or who, with such intent, has in his possession any material upon or in the substance of which any such device or mark has been counterfeited, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 342 Counterfeiting device or mark used for authenticating documents described in section 338, or possessing counterfeit marked material

The part that carries IPC 475 is marked.

(1) Whoever counterfeits upon, or in the substance of, any material, any device or mark used for the purpose of authenticating any document described in section 338, intending that such device or mark shall be used for the purpose of giving the appearance of authenticity to any document then forged or thereafter to be forged on such material, or who, with such intent, has in his possession any material upon or in the substance of which any such device or mark has been counterfeited, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

(2) Whoever counterfeits upon, or in the substance of, any material, any device or mark used for the purpose of authenticating any document or electronic record other than the documents described in section 338, intending that such device or mark shall be used for the purpose of giving the appearance of authenticity to any document then forged or thereafter to be forged on such material, or who with such intent, has in his possession any material upon or in the substance of which any such device or mark has been counterfeited, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The texts are India Code’s. The amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown. The PDFs linked below carry the full history.

Also in BNS 342

Other IPC sections that went to the same place

IPC 476 Counterfeiting device or mark used for authenticating documents other than those described in section 467, or possessing counterfeit marked material → BNS 342(2)

Old law or new?

Which one applies to a case

The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)). The repeal does not reach back: under section 358(2), penalties and punishments incurred for offences committed against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed. An act done before 1 July 2024 is therefore dealt with under the IPC section; an act done on or after that date, under the BNS.