Where anybody of persons contravenes any provision of this Decree or any regulation made thereunder which constitutes an offence under this Decree then-

(a) in the case of a body corporate (other than a partnership) every director or officer of the body shall be deemed also to be guilty of the offence; and

(b) in the case of a partnership, every partner or officer of the body shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence:

Provided that no person shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence by virtue of this section, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or connivance and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence having regard to all the circumstances.