As of January 2, 2022, a bounced cheque due to insufficient funds in your bank account is no longer considered a criminal offense within the UAE. Despite this change in law, however, the recipient has all rights to pursue legal action against the issuer through Cheque Execution proceedings.
The Amended Commercial Transaction Law Article 635 (Bis) states that payors, who write cheques and mark them as non-remunerated due to a lack of funds, may be subject to coercive enforcement in accordance with the Executive Regulation of Federal Law No. 11 of 1992. This gives the cheque’s payee full rights to insist on partial or complete payment from such an individual.
The fresh legislation proposed the Cheque Execution Process, assuming “Insufficient Funds” as the cause of a cheque bounce.
The revised law voids the criminal aspect associated with this return-related matter, and instead presents checks as a legal instrument or bond that accelerates both precautionary and execution proceedings without having to endure time-consuming civil processes, such as filing claims in court along with appeals and executions.
Afterward, the court notifies the defendant about their case in a span of 3-5 days. If the payee and defendant fail to resolve matters amicably within 15 days, then execution proceedings will begin.
