Going a step further on the path of digital transactions and cheque payments, the government is planning to amend the Negotiable Instruments Act (NIA) for faster decision in cheque bounce cases. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had made an announcement to this effect in the Budget 2016-17 and the amendments will be tabled in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.
The Department of Financial Services is in process of getting Cabinet approval for the amendments, ensuring that cheque bounce cases are settled speedily. In proposed amendments, the government is expected to propose a minimum deposit of 20 per cent of the contested amount by an offender at the trail court stage. At present, there is no mandatory deposit by a defaulter while contesting the charges in any trial court or raising an appeal before the appellate court.
In 2015, Parliament passed amendment to the Negotiable Instrument Act providing for filing of cheque bounce cases at the place where a cheque is presented for clearance and not the place of issue and these amendments had implications for over 18 lakh cheque bounce cases pending in various courts, of which about 38,000 are with the high courts.