Finance Committee passes Bill to amend Banking Offence Act with revisions

Kathmandu- The Finance Committee today endorsed the Bill to amend the Banking Offence and Punishment Act-2064 BS (2008) with amendments. A meeting of the Committee today passed the Bill with amendments, confirmed Committee President Santosh Chalise.

The meeting agreed on a provision seeking two to four years imprisonment in the case of a cheque bounce above Rs 100 million. Earlier, the Committee meeting on Sunday agreed on the provisions requiring one-month imprisonment in the case of a cheque bounce up to 1.5 million, one to three months if a due amount is Rs 1.5 million to 50 million, three months to one year in Rs 50 million to 10 million, and up to a year in a due amount above Rs 10 million. But in today’s meeting, some lawmakers demanded the escalation of the period of imprisonment in the case of a cheque bounce exceeding Rs 10 million, and their concerns were addressed.

The Council of Ministers on August 8, 2023, had accepted the draft of the Bill and it was registered in the parliament by the then Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat on September 2 same year. It is said the government realized the need to amend the Act bearing in mind the need for different legal treatment to cases of cheque bounce, the order from the Supreme Court to maintain uniformity in the legal approach to the case, and the assessment of the Office of the Attorney General.

The Bill mandates an account holder to not issue a cheque in absence of the sufficient deposits in the account. The Bill has proposed that if the account holder does not have sufficient deposits in the bank for payment as demanded by a cheque, such cheque be returned to the bearer. If the bearer wants to prove it is a case of cheque bounce, the respective bank should inform the account holder to make sure the deposits of the amount are sufficient for the payment as demanded by the cheque by not exceeding 30 days.

It has warranted any account holder to not issue a cheque requesting for the payment exceeding the deposit amount. The procedures to establish the case of a cheque bounce will be initiated if the demanded amount is not deposited in the bank by the next 30 days. With the completion of thirty days, if the bearer (again) presents the check requesting payment and the necessary amount is not available in the account, the bank must return the check within three days, officially declaring it the case of a cheque bounce.”