The Banking Offences and Punishments Bill is advancing through the legislative process. The then Finance Minister, Prakash Sharan Mahat, introduced the bill in the House of Representatives on May 20, 2023.
Since its introduction, the bill has been passed by the House of Representatives and is now under consideration in the National Assembly. It introduces stricter provisions against cheque dishonor, requiring the due amount to be paid and proposing imprisonment of up to two years for offenders. Additionally, complaints regarding cheque bounce cases must be filed within three months.
The Finance Committee of the House of Representatives amended the bill, setting imprisonment between one to two years for dishonored cheques exceeding Rs 10 million. For checks exceeding Rs 100 million, the proposed imprisonment period is two to four years, regardless of the exact amount.
With these provisions, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel presented the bill for a discussion in the National Assembly on Sunday.
After Minister Poudel introduced the bill as per the agenda, Upper House Chairman Narayan Dahal invited MPs to register their names within two minutes if they wished to speak, allocating three minutes for each. However, no National Assembly member raised any concerns or participated in the discussion. As a result, Chairman Dahal proceeded to present the bill for approval, and the Assembly unanimously endorsed it.
MPs now have 72 hours to propose amendments. If changes are suggested, the bill will return to the House of Representatives for further discussion. Once passed by both houses, the Speaker of the Lower House will verify it before forwarding it to the President, whose approval is required for it to become law.
