خلاصہ
The Bills of Exchange Act 1882 codified the common law on negotiable instruments and remains the foundational statute for bills of exchange, cheques, and promissory notes in the United Kingdom. It defines a bill of exchange as an unconditional order in writing, signed by the drawer, requiring the drawee to pay a fixed sum on demand or at a determinable future time (s.3), and sets out the rules on acceptance, negotiation, and the protected position of a holder in due course, who can take the instrument free of defects in title (s.29). A cheque is treated as a bill of exchange drawn on a banker payable on demand (s.73), and a promissory note as a written promise to pay (s.83). Although cheque use has declined sharply, the Act continues to govern negotiable instruments and was updated to permit the electronic presentment of cheques.
اہم نکات
- Defines a bill of exchange as an unconditional order in writing to pay a fixed sum (s.3)
- Acceptance — the drawee's signified assent to the drawer's order (s.17)
- Holder in due course takes the bill free of defects in title (s.29)
- Cheque defined as a bill of exchange drawn on a banker payable on demand (s.73)
- Promissory note defined as a written promise to pay (s.83)
- Liability of the drawer, acceptor, and indorser, and negotiation by delivery (bearer) or indorsement and delivery (order)
حصے اور دفعات
ترامیم کی تاریخ
1992 — Cheques Act 1992
Introduced the non-transferable 'account payee' crossing, making such cheques payable only into the named payee's account.
2015 — Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
Inserted Part 4A enabling the presentment of cheques and other instruments by electronic means (the cheque image-clearing system).