Nepal Rastra Bank has issued a revised and expanded version of its “Unified Directive 2081” for Class A, B, and C banks and financial institutions. The new rules impose stricter penalties for bounced cheques, including blacklisting issuers for insufficient funds or mismatched details.
Nepal Rastra Bank has introduced significant amendments, revisions, and new provisions under the “Unified Directive 2081,” covering Class A, B, and C banks and financial institutions. The directive, issued on Asar 26, 2082, has made the rules related to bounced cheques stricter, particularly concerning blacklisting cheque issuers.
As per the new directive, any individual, firm, company, or institution that issues a cheque without maintaining sufficient funds in their account, or with mismatched details on the cheque, will be blacklisted if the cheque bounces. Banks and financial institutions must provide a written notice to the payee clarifying that the cheque bounced due to insufficient funds.
After the cheque is bounced, the holder may re-present it within two working days. If the payment is not made within the next seven days, an application can be submitted to blacklist the issuer. Once the application is received, the concerned bank must forward the issuer’s details to the Credit Information Center within five working days.
The rules have also been tightened for cheques that are stopped for payment after issuance. If the issuer fails to make payment within seven days (excluding public holidays) of stopping the cheque, they will also be blacklisted. The same rule applies when cheques are dishonored for reasons other than insufficient funds, despite having adequate balance.
Persons blacklisted under these provisions will not be allowed to carry out any banking transactions except for depositing funds into their accounts. To remove a name from the blacklist, the concerned bank or financial institution must recommend delisting to the Credit Information Center within three days, and the center must complete the delisting process within the next three working days.
The criteria for delisting include settling loan and interest dues, clearing the cheque amount, earmarking the required funds, or reaching a legal settlement.
These rules will also apply to cheques issued by foreign individuals or institutions.
This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com Translated with the help of AI and reviewed by our editorial team.
