3.—(1) No person is to act as auditor of a company if he is ineligible for appointment to the office.U.K.
(2) If during his term of office an auditor of a company becomes ineligible for appointment to the office, he must thereupon vacate office and give notice in writing to the company concerned that he has vacated it by reason of ineligibility.
(3) A person who acts as auditor of a company in contravention of sub-paragraph (1) or fails to give notice of vacating his office as required by sub-paragraph (2) is guilty of an offence and liable—
(a)on conviction on indictment, to a fine;
(b)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum.
(4) In the case of continued contravention he is liable on a second or subsequent summary conviction (instead of the fine mentioned in sub-paragraph (3)(b)) to a fine not exceeding £100 in respect of each day on which the contravention is continued.
(5) In proceedings against a person for an offence under this paragraph it is a defence for him to show that he did not know and had no reason to believe that he was, or had become, ineligible for appointment.