L.R.O. 1/2012
LAWS OF GUYANA
BILLS OF EXCHANGE ACT
CHAPTER 90:13
Act
13 of 1891
Amended by
17 of 1907
2 of 1915 35 of 1918 56 of 1932 39 of 1933
4 of 1972
29 of 1991
(inclusive) by L.R.O.
Pages Authorised
Current Authorised Pages
1 – 62 ... 1/2012
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Index
of
Subsidiary Legislation
This Chapter contains no subsidiary legislation.
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CHAPTER 90:13
BILLS OF EXCHANGE ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
PART I
BILLS OF EXCHANGE
Form and Interpretation
3. Definition of “bill of exchange”.
4. Inland and foreign bills.
5. Effect where different parties to bill are the same person.
6. Address to drawee.
7. Certainty required as to payee.
8. What bills are negotiable.
9. Sum payable by bill.
10. Bill payable on demand.
11. Bill payable at future time.
12. Omission of date in bill payable at fixed period after date.
13. Ante-dating and post-dating.
14. Computation of time of payment.
15. Referee in case of need.
16. Optional stipulations by drawer or endorser.
17. Definition and requisites of acceptance.
18. Time for acceptance.
19. General and qualified acceptances.
20. Inchoate instrument.
21. Delivery and effect thereof.
CAPACITY AND AUTHORITY OF PARTIES
22. Capacity of parties
23. Signature essential to liability.
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SECTION
24. Forged or unauthorised signature.
25. Procuration signature.
26. Person signing as agent or in representative capacity.
27. What signatures to be attested.
CONSIDERATION FOR BILL
28. Value and holder for value.
29. Accommodation party to a bill.
30. Holder in due course.
31. Presumption of value and good faith.
NEGOTIATION OF BILL
32. Modes of negotiating bill.
33. Requisites of valid endorsement.
34. Conditional endorsement.
35. Endorsement in blank and special endorsement.
36. Restrictive endorsement.
37. Negotiation of overdue or dishonoured bill.
38. Negotiation of bill to party already liable thereon.
39. Rights and powers of holder.
GENERAL DUTIES OF HOLDER
40. When presentment for acceptance is necessary.
41. Time for presenting bill payable after sight.
42. Rules as to presentment for acceptance and excuses for non-
presentment.
43. Non-acceptance.
44. Dishonour by non-acceptance and its consequences.
45. Provisions as to qualified acceptance.
46. Rules as to presentment for payment.
47. Excuses for delay or non-presentment for payment.
48. Dishonour by non-payment.
49. Notice of dishonour and effect of no notice.
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SECTION
50. Rules as to notice of dishonour.
51. Excuses for non-notice and delay in giving notice.
52. Noting or protest of bill.
53. Duties of holder as regards drawee or acceptor.
LIABILITIES OF PARTIES
54. Funds in hands of drawee.
55. Liability of acceptor.
56. Liability of drawer and endorser.
57. Liability of stranger who signs bill.
58. Measure of damages against parties to dishonoured bill.
59. Transferor by delivery and transferee.
DISCHARGE OF BILL
60. Payment in due course.
61. Banker paying demand draft whereon endorsement is forged.
62. Acceptor the holder at maturity.
63. Express renunciation.
64. Cancellation of bill.
65. Alteration of bill.
ACCEPTANCE AND PAYMENT FOR HONOUR
66. Acceptance for honour supra protest.
67. Liability of acceptor for honour.
68. Presentment to acceptor for honour.
69. Payment for honour supra protest.
LOST INSTRUMENT
70. Holder’s right to duplicate of lost bill.
71. Action on lost bill.
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SECTION
BILL IN A SET
72. Rules as to bill in a set
CONFLICT OF LAWS
73. Rules where laws conflict.
PART II
CHEQUES ON A BANKER
74. Definition of “cheque”.
75. Presentation of cheque for payment.
76. Revocation of banker’s authority.
CROSSED CHEQUES AND BANKERS’ DRAFTS
77. General and special crossings defined.
78. Crossing by drawer or after issue.
79. Crossing a material part of cheque.
80. Duties of banker as to crossed cheque.
81. Protection to banker and drawer where cheque is crossed.
82. Effect of crossing on holder.
83. 83. Protection to collecting banker.
84. 84. Application of sections 77 to 83 to bankers’ drafts.
PART III
PROMISSORY NOTES
85. Definition of “promissory note”.
86. Delivery necessary.
87. Joint and several notes.
88. Note payable on demand.
89. Presentment of note for payment.
90. Liability of maker.
91. Application of Part I to notes.
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SECTION
PART IV
SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
92. Definition of “good faith”.
93. Signature.
94. Computation of time.
95. When noting equivalent to protest.
96. Protest when notary not accessible.
97. Extension of provisions as to crossed cheques.
98. Savings.
99. Saving as to existing bill, cheque, or note.
SCHEDULE—Form.
__________________________
1929 Ed.
c. 56
1953 Ed.
c. 338 _______________________________________________________1
3 of 1891
CHAPTER 90:13
BILLS OF EXCHANGE ACT
An Act to codify the Law relating to Bills of Exchange,
Cheques, and Promissory Notes.
[15TH JULY, 1891]
Short title.
Interpretation.
1. This Act may be cited as the Bills of Exchange Act.
2. In this Act—
“acceptance” means an acceptance completed by delivery
or notification;
“action” includes counter-claim and set-off;
“banker” includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or
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Definition of
“bill of
exchange”.
not, who carry on the business of banking;
“bearer” means the person in possession of a bill or note
which is payable to bearer;
“bill” means bill of exchange and “note” means promissory
note;
“delivery means transfer of possession, actual or constructive,
of a bill or note from one person to another;
“endorsement” means an endorsement completed by
delivery;
“holder” means the payee or endorsee of a bill or note who is
in possession of it, or is the bearer thereof;
“insolvent” includes any person whose estate is vested in a
trustee or assignee or in the Official Receiver under the
law for the time being in force relating to insolvency;
“issue” means the first delivery of a bill or note, complete in
form, to a person who takes it as a holder;
“value” means valuable consideration.
PART I
BILLS OF EXCHANGE
Form and Interpretation
3. (1) A bill of exchange is an unconditional order in
writing addressed by one person to another, signed by the
person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed
to pay, on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time, a
sum certain in money to, or to the order of, a specified person,
or to bearer.
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Inland and
foreign bills.
(2) An instrument which does not comply
with these conditions, or which orders any act to be done in
addition to the payment of money, is not a bill of exchange.
(3) An order to pay out of a particular fund is not
unconditional within the meaning of this section; but an
unqualified order to pay, coupled with—
(a) an indication of a particular fund out
of which the drawee is to reimburse
himself, or a particular account, to be
debited with the amount, or
(b) a statement of the transaction which
gives rise to the bill, is unconditional.
(4) A bill is not invalid by reason that—
(a) it is not dated; or
(b) it does not specify the value given, or
that any value has been given
therefor; or
(c) it does not specify the place where it is
drawn or the place where it is
payable.
4. (1) An inland bill is a bill which is, or on the face of
it purports to be—
(a) both drawn and payable within
Guyana; or
(b) drawn within Guyana upon some
person resident therein.
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Effect where
different
parties to bill
are the same
person.
Address to
drawee.
Certainty
required as to
payee.
What bills are
negotiable.
(2) Any other bill is a foreign bill.
(3) Unless the contrary appears on the face of the
bill, the holder may treat it as an inland bill.
5. (1) A bill may be drawn payable to, or to the order
of, the drawer, or it may be drawn payable to, or to the order
of, the drawee.
(2) Where in a bill drawer and drawee are the same
person, or where the drawee is a fictitious person or a person
not having capacity to contract, the holder may treat the
instrument, at his option, either as a bill of exchange or as a
promissory note.
6. (1) The drawee must be named or otherwise
indicated in a bill with reasonable certainty.
(2) A bill may be addressed to two or more
drawees, whether they are partners or not, but an order
addressed to two drawees in the alternative, or to two or
more drawees in succession, is not a bill of exchange.
7. (1) Where a bill is not payable to bearer, the payee
must be named or otherwise indicated therein with
reasonable certainty.
(2) A bill may be made payable to two or more
payees jointly, or it may be made payable in the alternative to
one or two, or one or some, of several payees. A bill may also
be made payable to the holder of an office for the time being.
(3) Where the payee is a fictitious or non-existing
person, the bill may be treated as payable to bearer.
8. (1) Where a bill contains words prohibiting
transfer, or indicating an intention that it should not be
transferable, it is valid as between the parties thereto, but is
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Sum payable
by bill.
not negotiable.
(2) A negotiable bill may be payable either to order
or to bearer.
(3) A bill is payable to bearer which is expressed to
be so payable, or on which the only or last endorsement is an
endorsement in blank.
(4) A bill is payable to order which is expressed to
be so payable, or which is expressed to be payable to a
particular person, and does not contain words prohibiting
transfer or indicating an intention that it should not be
transferable.
(5) Where a bill, either originally or by
endorsement, is expressed to be payable to the order of a
specified person, and not to him or his order, it is nevertheless
payable to him or his order, at his option.
9. (1) The sum payable by a bill is a sum certain
within the meaning of this Act, although it is required to be
paid—
(a) with interest; or
(b) by stated instalments; or
(c) by stated instalments, with a
provision that, upon default in
payment of any instalment, the
whole shall become due; or
(d) according to an indicated rate of
exchange, or according to a rate of
exchange to be ascertained as directed
by the bill.
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Bill payable on
demand.
Bill payable at
future time.
(2) Where the sum payable is expressed in words
and also in figures, and there is a discrepancy between the
two, the sum denoted by the words is the amount payable.
(3) Where a bill is expressed to be payable with
interest, unless the instrument otherwise provides, interest
runs from the date of the bill, and, if the bill is undated, from
the issue thereof.
10. (1) A bill is payable on demand—
(a) which is expressed to be payable on
demand, sight, or on presentation; or
(b) in which no time for payment is
expressed.
(2) Where a bill is accepted or endorsed when it is
overdue, it shall, as regards the acceptor who so accepts or
any endorser who so endorses it, be deemed a bill payable on
demand.
11. (1) A bill is payable at a determinable future time,
within the meaning of this Act, which is expressed to be
payable—
(a) at a fixed period after date or sight; or
(b) on or at a fixed period after the
occurrence of a specified event
which is certain to happen, though
the time of happening may be
uncertain.
(2) An instrument expressed to be payable on a
contingency is not a bill, and the happening of the event does
not cure the defect.
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Omission of
date in bill
payable at fixed
period after
date.
Ante-dating
and post-
dating.
Computation of
time of
payment.
[4 of 1972]
12. Where a bill expressed to be payable at a fixed
period after date is issued undated, or where the acceptance
of a bill payable at a fixed period, after sight is undated, any
holder may insert therein the true date of issue or acceptance,
and the bill shall be payable accordingly:
Provided that—
(a) where the holder, in good faith and by
mistake, inserts a wrong date, and
(b) in every case where a wrong date is inserted,
if the bill subsequently comes into the hands
of a holder in due course, the bill shall not
be avoided thereby, but shall operate and be
payable as if the date so inserted had been
the true date.
13. (1) Where a bill, or an acceptance, or any
endorsement on a bill is dated, the date shall, unless the
contrary is proved, be deemed to be the true date of the
drawing, acceptance, or endorsement, as the case may be.
(2) A bill is not invalid by reason only that it is
ante-dated, or post-dated, or bears date on a Sunday.
14. Where a bill is not payable on demand, the day on
which it falls due is determined as follows:
(a) three days, called days of grace, are, in every
case where the bill itself does not otherwise
provide, added to the time of payment as
fixed by the bill, and the bill is due and
payable on the last day of grace:
Provided that—
(i) when the last day of grace falls on a
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Referee in case
of need.
holiday, the bill is, except in the cases
provided for in paragraph (ii) of this
proviso, due and payable on the
preceding business day; and
(ii) when the public has had less than
three days’ notice of the holiday
referred to in paragraph (i) of this
proviso or when the last two days of
grace fall on holidays, the bill is due
and payable on the succeeding
business day;
(b) where a bill is payable at a fixed period after
date, after sight, or after the happening of a
specified event, the time of payment is
determined by excluding the day from
which the time is to begin to run and by
including the day of payment;
(c) where a bill is payable at a fixed period after
sight, the time begins to run from the date of
the acceptance, if the bill is accepted, and
from the date of noting or protest, if the bill
is noted or protested for non-acceptance or
for non-delivery; and
(d) the term “month” in a bill means calendar
month.
15. The drawer of a bill and any endorser may insert
therein the name of a person (called the referee in case of
need), to whom the holder may resort in case of need, that is
to say, in case the bill is dishonoured by non-acceptance or
and the term “holiday” in this proviso
means a public holiday;
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Optional
stipulations by
drawer or
endorser.
Definition and
requisites of
acceptance.
Time for
acceptance.
non-payment. It is in the option of the holder to resort to the
referee in case of need or not as he may think fit.
16. The drawer of a bill and any endorser may insert
therein an express stipulation—
(a) negativing or limiting his own liability to the
holder; or
(b) waiving, as regards himself, some or all of
the holder’s duties.
17. (1) The acceptance of a bill is the signification by
the drawee of his assent to the order of the drawer.
(2) An acceptance is invalid unless it complies
with the following conditions:
(a) it must be written on the bill and be
signed by the drawee; the mere
signature of the drawee without
additional words is sufficient; and
(b) it must not express that the drawee
will perform his promise by any other
means than the payment of money.
18. (1) A bill may be accepted—
(a) before it has been signed by the
drawer, or while it is otherwise
incomplete; or
(b) when it is overdue, or after it has been
dishonoured by a previous refusal to
accept or by non-payment.
(2) When a bill payable after sight is dishonoured
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General and
qualified
acceptances.
Inchoate
instrument.
by non-acceptance and the drawee subsequently accepts it,
the holder is, in the absence of any different agreement,
entitled to have the bill accepted as of the date of first
presentment to the drawee for acceptance.
19. (1) An acceptance is either general or qualified.
(2) A general acceptance assents without
qualification to the order of the drawer.
(3) A qualified acceptance in express terms varies
the effect of the bill as drawn; in particular, an acceptance is
qualified which is—
(a) conditional, that is to say, which makes
payment by the acceptor dependent on the
fulfilment of a condition therein stated; or
(b) partial, that is to say, an acceptance to pay
part only of the amount for which the bill is
drawn; or
(c) local, that is to say, an acceptance to pay only
at a particular specified place. An
acceptance to pay at a particular place is a
general acceptance, unless it expressly states
that the bill is to be paid there only and not
elsewhere; or
(d) qualified as to time; or
(e) the acceptance of some one or more of the
drawees, but not of all.
20. (1) Where a simple signature on a blank stamped
paper is delivered by the signer in order that it may be
converted into a bill, it operates as a prima facie authority to
fill it up as a complete bill for any amount the stamp will
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Delivery and
effect thereof.
cover, using the signature for that of the drawer, or the
acceptor, or an endorser; and, in like manner, when a bill is
wanting in any material particular, the person in possession
of it has a prima facie authority to fill up the omission in any
way he thinks fit.
(2) In order that the instrument when
completed may be enforceable against any person who
became a party thereto prior to its completion, it must be
filled up within a reasonable time, and strictly in accordance
with the authority given, and reasonable time for this purpose
is a question of fact:
Provided that if the instrument after completion is
negotiated to a holder in due course, it shall be valid and
effectual for all purposes in his hands, and he may enforce it
as if it had been filled up within a reasonable time and strictly
in accordance with the authority given.
21. (1) Every contract on a bill, whether it be that of
the drawer, the acceptor, or an endorser, is incomplete and
revocable until delivery of the instrument in order to give
effect thereto:
Provided that where an acceptance is written on a bill,
and the drawee gives notice to, or according to the directions
of, the person entitled to the bill that he has accepted it, the
acceptance then becomes complete and irrevocable.
(2) As between immediate parties, and as regards a
remote party other than a holder in due course, the delivery—
(a) in order to be effectual must be made
either by or under the authority of the
party drawing, accepting, or
endorsing, as the case may be; and
(b) may be shown to have been
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Capacity of
parties.
Signature
essential to
liability.
conditional or for a special purpose
only, and not for the purpose of
transferring the property in the bill;
but if the bill is in the hands of a holder in due course, a valid
delivery of the bill by all parties prior to him so as to make
them liable to him is conclusively presumed.
(3) Where a bill is no longer in the possession of a
party who has signed it as drawer, acceptor, or endorser, a
valid and unconditional delivery by him is presumed until
the contrary is proved.
CAPACITY AND AUTHORITY OF PARTIES
22. (1) Capacity to incur liability as a party to a bill is
co-extensive with capacity to contract:
Provided that nothing in this section shall enable a
corporation to make itself liable as drawer, acceptor, or
endorser of a bill unless it is competent to it to do so under
the law for the time being in force relating to corporations.
(2) Where a bill is drawn or endorsed by an infant,
minor, or corporation having no capacity or power to incur
liability on a bill, the drawing or endorsement entitles the
holder to receive payment of the bill, and to enforce it against
any other party thereto.
23. No person is liable as drawer, acceptor, or
endorser of a bill who has not signed it as such:
Provided that—
(a) where a person signs a bill in a trade or
assumed name, he is liable thereon as if he
to the signature by the person so signing of
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had signed it in his own name; and
(b) the signature of the name of a firm is equivalent
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Forged or
unauthorised
signature.
Procuration
signature.
Person signing
as agent or in
representative
capacity.
What
signatures to be
attested.
[39 of 1933]
the names of all persons liable as partners in
that firm.
24. Subject to this Act, where the signature on a bill is
forged or placed thereon without the authority of the person
whose signature it purports to be, the forged or
unauthorised signature is wholly inoperative, and no right
to retain the bill, or to give a discharge therefor, or to enforce
payment thereof against any party thereto, can be acquired
through or under that signature, unless the party against
whom it is sought to retain or enforce payment of the bill is
precluded from setting up the forgery or want of authority:
Provided that nothing in this section shall affect the
ratification of an unauthorised signature not amounting to a
forgery.
25. A signature by procuration operates as notice that
the agent has but a limited authority to sign, and the principal
is only bound by that signature if the agent in so signing was
acting within the actual limits of his authority.
26. (1) Where a person signs a bill as drawer, acceptor,
or endorser, and adds words to his signature indicating that
he signs for or on behalf of a principal or in a representative
character, he is not personally liable thereon; but the mere
addition to his signature of words describing him as an agent,
or as filling a representative character, does not exempt him
from personal liability.
(2) In determining whether a signature on a bill is
that of the principal or that of the agent by whose hand it
is written, the construction most favourable to the validity of
the instrument shall be adopted.
27. (1) Where a person signs a bill of exchange as
drawer, acceptor or endorser, or signs a promissory note as
maker or endorser, his signature, if it be by mark or in
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Value and
holder for
value.
characters other than roman, shall have no effect unless it is
made in the presence of and attested by a district
commissioner, an immigration agent, a justice of the
peace, a superintendent of police, a government medical
officer, an agricultural superintendent or assistant
superintendent, an agricultural instructor, a mines officer, a
land officer or a clerk of a magistrate’s court, a notary public,
a manager or a deputy manager of a plantation employing
immigrants.
(2) An attestation shall be in the form following or to
the like effect:
Signed in my presence this
................................................. day of 20............
by.......................................................a person known to me.
(Signature)
(3) A person who attests a signature under this
section shall satisfy himself as to the identity of the party
signing and that he understands the nature and effect of the
instrument.
(4) A person shall not be capable of attesting a
signature under this section if he has any interest in the bill or
note or the proceeds thereof, or in any transaction connected
therewith.
CONSIDERATION FOR BILL
28. (1) Valuable consideration for a bill may be
constituted by—
(a) any consideration sufficient to
support a simple contract; or
(b) an antecedent debt or liability, and an
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Accommoda-
tion party to a
bill.
Holder in due
course.
antecedent debt or liability is deemed
valuable consideration whether the
bill is payable on demand or at a
future time.
(2) Where value has at any time been given for a
bill, the holder is deemed to be a holder for value as regards
the acceptor and all parties to the bill who became parties
prior to that time.
(3) Where the holder of a bill has a lien on it,
arising either from contract or by implication of law, he is
deemed to be a holder for value to the extent of the sum for
which he has a lien.
29. (1) An accommodation party to a bill is a person
who has signed a bill as drawer, acceptor, or endorser,
without receiving value therefor, and for the purpose of
lending his name to some other person.
(2) An accommodation party is liable on the bill to
a holder for value; and it is immaterial whether, when that
holder took the bill, he knew the party to be an
accommodation party or not.
30. (1) A holder in due course is a holder who has
taken a bill, complete and regular on the face of it, under the
following conditions:
(a) that he became the holder of it before
it was overdue, and without notice
that it had been previously
dishonoured, if that was the fact; and
(b) that he took the bill in good faith and
for value, and that at the time the bill
was negotiated to him he had no
notice of any defect in the title of the
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Presumption of
value and
good faith.
Modes of
negotiating bill.
person who negotiated it.
(2) In particular, the title of a person who
negotiates a bill is defective within the meaning of this Act
when he obtained the bill, or the acceptance thereof, by fraud,
duress, or force and fear, or other unlawful means, or for an
illegal consideration, or when he negotiates it in breach of
faith, or in circumstances amounting to a fraud.
(3) A holder, whether for value or not, who derives
his title to a bill through a holder in due course, and who is
not himself a party to any fraud or illegality affecting it, has
all the rights of that holder in due course as regards the
acceptor and all parties to the bill prior to that holder.
31. (1) Every party whose signature appears on a bill
is prima facie deemed to have become a party thereto for
value.
(2) Every holder of a bill is prima facie deemed to
be a holder in due course; but if in an action on a bill it is
admitted or proved that the acceptance, issue, or subsequent
negotiation of the bill is affected with fraud, duress, or force
and fear, or illegality, the burden of proof is shifted, unless
and until the holder proves that, subsequent to the alleged
fraud or illegality, value has in good faith been given for the
bill.
NEGOTIATION OF BILL
32. (1) A bill is negotiated when it is so transferred
from one person to another that it constitutes the transferee
the holder of the bill.
(2) A bill payable to bearer is negotiated by
delivery.
(3) A bill payable to order is negotiated by the
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Requisites of
valid
endorsement.
endorsement of the holder completed by delivery.
(4) Where the holder of a bill payable to his order
transfers it for value without endorsing it, the transfer gives
the transferee that title which the transferor had in the bill,
and the transferee in addition acquires the right to have the
endorsement of the transferor.
(5) Where any person is under obligation to
endorse a bill in a representative capacity, he may so endorse
the bill as to negative personal liability.
33. (1) An endorsement, in order to operate as a
negotiation, must comply with the following conditions:
(a) it must be written on the bill itself
and be signed by the endorser. The
simple signature of the endorser on
the bill, without additional words, is
sufficient. An endorsement written
on an allonge, or on a “copy” of a bill
issued or negotiated in a country
where “copies” are recognised, is
deemed to be written on the bill itself;
and
(b) it must be an endorsement of the
entire bill. A partial endorsement,
that is to say, an endorsement which
purports to transfer to the endorsee a
part only of the amount payable, or
which purports to transfer the bill
to two or more endorsees severally,
does not operate as a negotiation of a
bill.
(2) Where a bill is payable to the order of two or
more payees or endorsees who are not partners, all must
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Conditional
endorsement.
Endorsement in
blank and
special
endorsement.
endorse, unless the one endorsing has authority to endorse
for the others.
(3) Where, in a bill payable to order, the payee or
endorsee is wrongly designated or his name is mis-spelt, he
may endorse the bill as therein described, adding, if he thinks
fit, his proper signature.
(4) Where there are two or more endorsements on
a bill, each endorsement is deemed to have been made in the
order in which it appears on the bill, until the contrary is
proved.
(5) An endorsement may be made in blank or
special; it may also contain terms making it restrictive.
34. Where a bill purports to be endorsed conditionally
the condition may be disregarded by the payer, and payment
to the endorsee is valid whether the condition has been
fulfilled or not.
35. (1) An endorsement in blank specifies no endorsee,
and a bill so endorsed becomes payable to bearer.
(2) A special endorsement specifies the person to
whom or to whose order the bill is to be payable.
(3) The provisions of this Act relating to a payee
apply, with the necessary modifications, to an endorsee under
a special endorsement.
(4) When a bill has been endorsed in blank, any
holder may convert the blank endorsement into a special
endorsement by writing above the endorser’s signature, a
direction to pay the bill to, or to the order of, himself or some
other person.
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Restrictive
endorsement.
Negotiation of
overdue or
dishonoured
bill.
36. (1) An endorsement is restrictive which prohibits
the further negotiation of the bill, or which expresses that it is
a mere authority to deal with the bill as thereby directed and
not a transfer of the ownership thereof, as, for example, if a
bill is endorsed “Pay D only”, or “Pay D for the account of X”,
or “Pay D or order for collection”.
(2) A restrictive endorsement gives the endorsee
the right to receive payment of the bill and to sue any party
thereto that his endorser could have sued, but gives him no
power to transfer his rights as endorsee unless it expressly
authorises him to do so.
(3) Where a restrictive endorsement authorises
further transfer, all subsequent endorsees take the bill with
the same rights and subject to the same liabilities as the
first endorsee under the restrictive endorsement.
37. (1) Where a bill is negotiable in its origin, it
continues to be negotiable until it has been restrictively
endorsed or discharged by payment or otherwise.
(2) Where an overdue bill is negotiated, it can
only be negotiated subject to any defect of title affecting it at
its maturity, and thenceforward no person who takes it can
acquire or give a better title than that of the person from
whom he took it.
(3) A bill payable on demand is deemed to be
overdue, within the meaning and for the purposes of this
section, when it appears on the face of it to have been in
circulation for an unreasonable length of time, and what is an
unreasonable length of time for this purpose is a question of
fact.
(4) Except where an endorsement bears date after
the maturity of the bill, every negotiation is prima facie
deemed to have been effected before the bill was overdue.
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Negotiation of
bill to party
already liable
thereon.
Rights and
powers of
holder.
When
presentment for
acceptance is
necessary.
(5) Where a bill which is not overdue has been
dishonoured, any person who takes it with notice of the
dishonour takes it subject to any defect of title attaching
thereto at the time of the dishonour, but nothing in this
subsection shall affect the rights of a holder in due course.
38. Where a bill is negotiated back to the drawer, or
to a prior endorser, or to the acceptor, that party may, subject
to this Act, re- issue and further negotiate the bill, but he is
not entitled to enforce payment of the bill against any
intervening party to whom he was previously liable.
39. The rights and powers of the holder of a bill are as
follows:
(a) he may sue on the bill in his own name;
(b) where he is a holder in due course, he holds
the bill free from any defect of title of prior
parties as well as from mere personal
defences available to prior parties
among themselves, and may enforce
payment against all parties liable on the bill;
and
(c) where his title is defective—
(i) if he negotiates the bill to a holder in
due course, that holder obtains a good
person who pays him in due course
gets a valid discharge for the bill.
GENERAL DUTIES OF HOLDER
40. (1) Where a bill is payable after sight, presentment
for acceptance is necessary in order to fix the maturity of the
instrument.
and complete title to the bill; and
(ii) if he obtains payment of the bill, the
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Time for
presenting bill
payable after
sight.
Rules as to
presentment for
acceptance
and excuses for
non-
presentment.
(2) Where a bill expressly stipulates that it shall be
presented for acceptance, or where a bill is drawn payable
elsewhere than at the residence or place of business of the
drawee, it must be presented for acceptance before it can be
presented for payment.
(3) In no other case is presentment for acceptance
necessary in order to render liable any party to the bill.
(4) Where the holder of a bill, drawn payable
elsewhere than at the residence or place of business of the
drawee, has not time, with the exercise of reasonable
diligence, to present the bill for acceptance before presenting
it for payment on the day that it falls due, the delay caused by
presenting the bill for acceptance before presenting it for
payment is excused, and does not discharge the drawer and
endorsers.
41. (1) Subject to this Act, when a bill payable
after sight is negotiated, the holder must either present it for
acceptance or negotiate it within a reasonable time.
(2) If he does not do so, the drawer and all
endorsers prior to that holder are discharged.
(3) In determining what is a reasonable time within
the meaning of this section, regard shall be had to the nature
of the bill, the usage of trade with respect to similar bills, and
the facts of the particular case.
42. (1) A bill is duly presented for acceptance which is
presented in accordance with the following rules:
(a) the presentment must be made by or
on behalf of the holder to the drawee,
or to some person authorised to
accept or refuse acceptance on his
behalf, at a reasonable hour on a
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business day, and before the bill is
overdue;
(b) where a bill is addressed to two or
more drawees who are not partners,
presentment must be made to them
all, unless one has authority to accept
for all, when presentment may be
made to him only;
(c) where the drawee is dead,
presentment may be made to his
personal representative;
(d) where the drawee is insolvent,
presentment may be made to him, or
to the Official Receiver, or to the
trustee or assignee; and
(e) where authorised by agreement or
usage, a presentment through the post
office is sufficient.
(2) Presentment in accordance with these rules is
excused, and a bill may be treated as dishonoured by non-
acceptance—
(a) where the drawee is dead or insolvent,
or is a fictitious person, or a person
not having capacity to contract by bill;
or
(b) where after the exercise of reasonable
diligence the presentment cannot be
effected; or
(c) where although the presentment has
been irregular, acceptance has been
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Non-
acceptance.
Dishonour by
non-accep-
tance and its
consequence.
Provisions as to
qualified
acceptance.
refused on some other ground.
(3) The fact that the holder has reason to believe
that the bill on presentment will be dishonoured does not
excuse presentment.
43. (1) When a bill is duly presented for acceptance
and is not accepted within the customary time, the person
presenting it must treat it as dishonoured by non-acceptance.
(2) If he does not, the holder shall lose his right of
recourse against the drawer and endorsers.
44. (1) A bill is dishonoured by non-acceptance—
(a) when it is duly presented for
acceptance, and the acceptance
prescribed by this Act is refused or
cannot be obtained; or
(b) when presentment for acceptance is
excused and the bill is not accepted.
(2) Subject to this Act, when a bill is dishonoured
by non-acceptance, an immediate right of recourse against the
drawer and endorsers accrues to the holder, and no
presentment for payment is necessary.
45. (1) The holder of a bill may refuse to take a
qualified acceptance, and, if he does not obtain an unqualified
acceptance, may treat the bill as dishonoured by non-
acceptance.
(2) Where a qualified acceptance is taken, and the
drawer or endorser has not expressly or impliedly authorised
the holder to take a qualified acceptance, or does not
subsequently assent thereto, that drawer or endorser is
discharged from his liability on the bill. This subsection does
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Rules as to
presentment for
payment.
not apply to a partial acceptance, whereof due notice has been
given. Where a foreign bill has been accepted as to part, it
must be protested as to the balance.
(3) When the drawer or endorser of a bill receives
notice of a qualified acceptance, and does not within a
reasonable time express his dissent to the holder, he shall be
deemed to have assented thereto.
46. (1) Subject to this Act, a bill must be duly
presented for payment, and if it is not so presented the
drawer and endorser shall be discharged.
(2) A bill is duly presented for payment which is
presented in accordance with the following rules:
(a) where the bill is not payable on
demand, presentment must be made
on the day it falls due; and
(b) where the bill is payable on demand,
then, subject to this Act, presentment
must be made within a reasonable
time after its issue in order to render
(3) Presentment must be made by the holder, or by
some person authorised to receive payment on his behalf, at a
reasonable hour on a business day, at the proper place as
hereinafter defined, either to the person designated by the bill
as payer, or to some person authorised to pay or refuse
payment on his behalf, if, with the exercise of reasonable
the drawer liable, and within a reasonable
time after its endorsement in order
to render the endorser liable. In
determining what is areasonable time,
regard shall be had to the nature of
the bill, the usage of trade with regard to similar bills, and the facts of the
particular case.
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diligence, that person can there be found.
(4) A bill is presented at the proper place—
(a) where a place of payment is specified
in the bill and the bill is there
presented; or
(b) where no place of payment is
specified, but the address of the
drawee or acceptor is given in the bill,
and the bill is there presented; or
(c) where no place of payment is specified
and no address is given, and the bill
is presented at the drawee’s or
acceptor’s place of business, if known,
and, if not, at his ordinary residence,
if known; or
(d) in any other case, if it is presented to
the drawee or acceptor wherever he
can be found, or if it is presented at
his last known place of business or
residence.
(5) Where a bill is presented at the proper place,
and, after the exercise of reasonable diligence, no person
authorised to pay or refuse payment can be found there, no
further presentment to the drawee or acceptor is required.
(6) Where a bill is drawn upon or accepted by two
or more persons who are not partners, and no place of
payment is specified, presentment must be made to them all.
(7) Where the drawee or acceptor of a bill is dead,
and no place of payment is specified, presentment must be
made to a personal representative, if there be one, and if, with
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Excuses for
delay or non-
presentment for
payment.
the exercise of reasonable diligence, he can be found.
(8) Where authorised by agreement or usage, a
presentment through the post office is sufficient.
47. (1) Delay in making presentment for payment is
excused when the delay is caused by circumstances beyond
the control of the holder delay and not attributable to his
default, misconduct, or negligence. When the cause of delay
ceases to operate, presentment must be made with reasonable
diligence.
(2) Presentment for payment is dispensed with—
(a) where, after the exercise of reasonable
diligence, presentment, as required by
this Act, cannot be effected. The fact
that the holder has reason to believe
that the bill will, on presentment, be
dishonoured, does not dispense with
the necessity for presentment; or
(b) where the drawee is a fictitious
person; or
(c) as regards the drawer, where the
drawee or acceptor is not bound, as
between himself and the drawer, to
accept or pay the bill, and the drawer
has no reason to believe that the bill
would be paid if presented; or
(d) as regards an endorser, where the bill
was accepted or made for the
accommodation of that endorser, and
he has no reason to expect that the bill
would be paid if presented; or
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Dishonour by
non-payment.
Notice of
dishonour and
effect of no
notice.
(e) by waiver of presentment, express or
implied.
48. (1) A bill is dishonoured by non-payment—
(a) when it is duly presented for payment
and payment refused or cannot be
obtained; or
(b) when presentment is excused and the
bill is overdue and unpaid.
(2) Subject to this Act, when a bill is dishonoured
by non- payment, an immediate right of recourse against the
drawer and endorsers accrues to the holder.
49. Subject to this Act, when a bill has been
dishonoured by non- acceptance or by non-payment, notice of
dishonour must be given to the drawer and each endorser,
and any drawer or endorser to whom that notice is not given
is discharged:
Provided that—
(a) where a bill is dishonoured by non-
acceptance and notice of dishonour is not
given, the rights of a holder in due course,
subsequent to the omission shall not be
prejudiced by the omission; and
(b) where a bill is dishonoured by non-
acceptance and due notice of dishonour is
given, it shall not be necessary to give notice
of a subsequent dishonour by non-payment,
unless the bill has in the meantime been
accepted.
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Rules as to
notice of
dishonour.
50. Notice of dishonour, in order to be valid and
effectual, must be given in accordance with the following
rules:
(a) the notice must be given by or on behalf of
the holder, or by or on behalf of an endorser
who, at the time of giving it, is himself liable
on the bill;
(b) notice of dishonour may be given by an agent
either in his own name or in the name of any
party entitled to give notice, whether that
party be his principal or not;
(c) where the notice is given by or on behalf of
the holder, it enures for the benefit of all
subsequent holders and all prior endorsers
who have a right of recourse against the
party to whom it is given;
(d) where notice is given by or on behalf of an
endorser entitled to give notice as
hereinbefore provided, it enures for the
benefit of the holder and all endorsers
subsequent to the party to whom notice is
given;
(e) the notice may be given in writing or by
personal communication, and may be given
in any terms sufficiently identifying the bill
and intimating that the bill has been
dishonoured by non-acceptance or non-
payment;
(f ) the return of a dishonoured bill to the
drawer or an endorser is, in point of form,
deemed a sufficient notice of dishonour;
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(g) a written notice need not be signed, and an
insufficient written notice may be
supplemented and validated by verbal
communication. A misdescription of the
bill shall not vitiate the notice, unless the
party to whom the notice is given is in fact
misled thereby;
(h) where notice of dishonour is required to be
given to any person it may be given either to
the party himself or to his agent in that
behalf;
(i) where the drawer or endorser is dead, and
the party giving notice knows it, the notice
must be given to a personal representative,
if there is one, and if, with the exercise of
reasonable diligence, he can be found;
(j) where the drawer or endorser is insolvent,
notice may be given either to the party
himself, or to the Official Receiver, or to the
trustee or assignee;
(k) where there are two or more drawers or
endorsers who are not partners, notice must
be given to each of them, unless one of them
has authority to receive that notice for the
other or others;
(l) the notice may be given as soon as the
bill is dishonoured and must be given
within a reasonable time thereafter. In the
absence of special circumstances, notice is
not deemed to have been given within a
reasonable time unless—
(i) where the person giving and the
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person to receive notice reside in the
same place, the notice is given or sent
off in time to reach the latter on the
day after the dishonour of the bill; or
(ii) where the person giving and the
person to receive notice reside in
different places, the notice sent off on
the day after the dishonour of the bill,
if there is a post at a convenient hour
on that day, and, if there is not that
post on that day, then by the next post
thereafter;
(m) where a bill when dishonoured is in the
hands of an agent, he may either himself
give notice to tile parties liable on the bill, or
he may give notice to his principal. If he
gives notice to his principal, he must do so
within the same time as if he were the
holder, and the principal, upon receipt of the
notice, has himself the same time for giving
notice as if the agent had been an
independent holder;
(n) where a party to a bill receives due notice of
dishonour, he has, after the receipt of that
notice, the same period of time for giving
notice to antecedent parties that the holder
has after the dishonour; and
(o) where a notice of dishonour is duly
addressed and posted, the sender is deemed
to have given due notice of dishonour,
notwithstanding any miscarriage by the
post office.
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Excuses for
non-notice and
delay in giving
notice.
51. (1) Delay in giving notice of dishonour is excused
where the delay is caused by circumstances beyond the
control of the party giving notice, and not attributable to his
default, misconduct, or negligence. When the cause of delay
ceases to operate, the notice must be given with reasonable
diligence.
(2) Notice of dishonour is dispensed with—
(a) when, after the exercise of reasonable
diligence, notice as required by this
Act cannot be given to, or does not
reach, the drawer or endorser sought
to be charged; or
(b) by waiver, express or implied. Notice
of dishonour may be waived before
the time of giving notice has arrived,
or after the omission to give due
notice; or
(c) as regards the drawer, in the following
cases:
(i) where the drawer and drawee
are the same person;
(ii) where the drawee is a fictitious
person or a person not having
capacity to contract;
(iii) where the drawer is the person
to whom the bill is presented
for payment;
(iv) where the drawee or acceptor
is, as between himself and the
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Noting or
protest of bill.
drawer, under no obligation to
accept or pay the bill; and
(v) where the drawer has
countermanded payment; or
(d) as regards the endorser, in the
following cases:
(i) where the drawee is a fictitious
person or person not having
capacity to contract, and the
endorser was aware of the fact
at the time he endorsed the bill;
(ii) where the endorser is the
person to whom the bill is
presented for payment; and
(iii) where the bill was accepted or
made for his accommodation.
52. (1) Where an inland bill has been dishonoured, it
may, if the holder thinks fit, be noted for non-acceptance or
non-payment, as the case may be; but it shall not be necessary
to note or protest the bill in order to preserve the recourse
against the drawer or endorser.
(2) Where a foreign bill, appearing on the face of it
to be foreign, has been dishonoured by non-acceptance, it
must be duly protested for non-acceptance, and where a
foreign bill, which has not been previously dishonoured by
non-acceptance, is dishonoured by non-payment, it must be
duly protested for non-payment. If it is not so protested, the
drawer and endorsers are discharged. Where a bill does not
appear on the face of it to be a foreign bill, protest thereof in
case of dishonour is unnecessary.
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(3) A bill which has been protested for non-
acceptance may be subsequently protested for non-payment.
(4) Subject to this Act, when a bill is noted or
protested, it may be noted on the day of its dishonour, and
must be noted not later than the next succeeding business
day. When a bill has been duly noted, the protest may be
subsequently extended as of the date of the noting.
(5) Where the acceptor of a bill becomes insolvent
or suspends payment before it matures, the holder may cause
the bill to be protested for better security against the drawer
and endorsers.
(6) A bill must be protested at the place where it is
dishonoured:
Provided that—
(a) when a bill is presented through the
post office, and returned by post
dishonoured, it may be protested at
the place to which it is returned, and
on the day of its return, if received
during business hours, and, if not
received during business hours, then
not later than the next business day;
necessary.
or demand on the drawee is
further presentment for payment to
is expressed to be payable, and no
non-payment at the place where it
acceptance, it must be protested for
has been dishonoured by non-
some person other than the drawee
the place of business or residence of
and
(b) when a bill drawn payable at
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Duties of
holder as
regards
drawee or
acceptor.
(7) A protest must contain a copy of the bill and
must be signed by the notary making it, and must specify—
(a) the person at whose request the bill is
protested; and
(b) the place and date of protest, the
cause or reason for protesting the bill,
the demand made, and the answer
given, if any, or the fact that the
drawee or acceptor could not be
found.
(8) Where a bill is lost or destroyed, or is wrongly
detained from the person entitled to hold it, protest may be
made on a copy or written particulars thereof.
(9) Protest is dispensed with by any circumstance
which would dispense with notice of dishonour. Delay in
noting or protesting is excused when the delay is caused by
circumstances beyond the control of the holder, and not
attributable to his default, misconduct, or negligence. When
the cause of delay ceases to operate, the bill must be noted or
protested with reasonable diligence.
53. (1) When a bill is accepted generally, presentment
for payment is not necessary in order to render the acceptor
liable.
(2) When by the terms of a qualified acceptance,
presentment for payment is required, the acceptor, in the
absence of an express stipulation to that effect, is not
discharged by the omission to present the bill for payment on
the day that it matures.
(3) In order to render the acceptor of a bill liable it
is not necessary to protest it, or that notice of dishonour
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Funds in hands
of drawee.
Liability of
acceptor.
should be given to him.
(4) Where the holder of a bill presents it for
payment, he shall exhibit the bill to the person from whom he
demands payment, and when a bill is paid the holder shall
forthwith deliver it up to the party paying it.
LIABILITIES OF PARTIES
54. A bill, of itself, does not operate as an assignment
of funds in the hands of the drawee available for the payment
thereof, and the drawee of a bill who does not accept as
required by this Act is not liable on the instrument.
55. The acceptor of a bill, by accepting it—
(a) engages that he will pay it according to the
tenor of his acceptance; and
(b) is precluded from denying to a holder in
due course—
(i) the existence of the drawer, the
genuineness of his signature, and his
capacity and authority to draw the
bill;
(ii) in the case of a bill payable to the
drawer’s order, the then capacity of
the drawer to endorse, but not the
genuineness or validity of his
endorsement; and
(iii) in the case of a bill payable to the
order of a third person, the existence
of the payee and his then capacity to
endorse, but not the genuineness
or validity of his endorsement.
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Liability of
drawer and
endorser.
56. (1) The drawer of a bill, by drawing it—
(a) engages that on due presentment it
shall be accepted and paid according
to its tenor, and that if it is
dishonoured he will compensate the
holder or any endorser compelled to
pay it, provided the requisite
proceedings on dishonour are duly
taken; and
(b) is precluded from denying to a holder
in due course the existence of the
payee and his then capacity to
endorse.
(2) The endorser of a bill, by endorsing it—
(a) engages that, on due presentment, it
shall be accepted and paid according
to its tenor, and that if it is
dishonoured he will compensate the
holder or a subsequent endorser who
is compelled to pay it, provided the
requisite proceedings on dishonour
are duly taken;
(b) is precluded from denying to a holder
in due course the genuineness and
regularity in all respects of the
drawer’s signature and all previous
endorsements; and
(c) is precluded from denying to his
immediate or a subsequent endorsee
that the bill was, at the time of his
endorsement, a valid and subsisting
bill, and that he had then a good title
thereto.
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Liability of
stranger who
signs bill.
Measure of
damages
against parties
to dishonoured
bill.
57. Where a person signs a bill otherwise than as
drawer or acceptor, he thereby incurs the liabilities of an
endorser to a holder in due course.
58. Where a bill is dishonoured, the measure of
damages, which shall be deemed to be liquidated damages,
shall be as follows:
(a) the holder may recover from any party liable
on the bill, and the drawer who has been
compelled to pay the bill may recover from
the acceptor, and an endorser who has been
compelled to pay the bill may recover from
the acceptor, or from the drawer, or from a
prior endorser—
(i) the amount of the bill;
(ii) interest thereon from the time of
presentment for payment if the bill is
payable on demand, and from the
maturity of the bill in any other case;
and
(iii) the expenses of noting, or, when
protest is necessary and the protest
has been extended, the expenses of
protest;
(b) in the case of a bill which has been
dishonoured abroad, in lieu of the above
damages, the holder may recover from the
drawer or an endorser, and the drawer or an
endorser who has been compelled to pay the
bill may recover from any party liable to
him, the amount of the re-exchange, with
interest thereon until the time of payment;
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Transferor by
delivery and
transferee.
Payment in due
course.
and
(c) where by this Act interest may be
recovered as damages, that interest may, if
justice requires it, be withheld wholly or in
part, and where a bill is expressed to be
payable with interest at a given rate, interest
as damages may or may not be given at the
same rate as interest proper.
59. (1) Where the holder of a bill payable to bearer
negotiates it by delivery without endorsing it, he is called a
“transferor by delivery”.
(2) A transferor by delivery is not liable on the
instrument.
(3) A transferor by delivery who negotiates a
bill thereby warrants to his immediate transferee, being a
holder for value, that the bill is what it purports to be, that he
has a right to transfer it, and that at the time of transfer he is
not aware of any fact which renders it valueless.
DISCHARGE OF BILL
60. (1) A bill is discharged by payment in due course
by or on behalf of the drawee or acceptor. “Payment in due
course” means payment made at or after the maturity of the
bill to the holder thereof, in good faith, and without notice
that his title to the bill is defective.
(2) Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained,
when a bill is paid by the drawer or an endorser it is not
discharged; but—
(a) where a bill payable to, or to the order
of, a third party is paid by the
drawer, the drawer may enforce
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Banker paying
demand draft
whereon
endorsement is
forged.
Acceptor the
holder at
maturity.
Express
renunciation.
payment thereof against the acceptor,
but may not re-issue the bill; and
(b) where a bill is paid by an endorser, or
where a bill payable to drawer’s order
is paid by the drawer, the party
paying it is remitted to his former
rights as regards the acceptor or
antecedent parties, and he may, if he
thinks fit, strike out his own and
subsequent endorsements, and again
negotiate the bill.
(3) Where an accommodation bill is paid in due
course by the party accommodated, the bill is discharged.
61. (1) When a bill payable to order on demand is
drawn on a banker, and the banker on whom it is drawn pays
the bill, in good faith and in the ordinary course of business, it
is not incumbent on the banker to show that the
endorsement of the payee or any subsequent endorsement
was made by or under the authority of the person whose
endorsement it purports to be, and the banker is deemed to
have paid the bill in due course, although that endorsement
has been forged or made without authority.
(2) In this section, “bill” includes a draft or order
for a sum of money payable to order on demand drawn by a
banker on his principal or any of his branch banks within
Guyana.
62. When the acceptor of a bill is or becomes the
holder of it at or after its maturity, in his own right, the bill is
discharged.
63. (1) When the holder of a bill at or after its maturity
absolutely and unconditionally renounces his rights against
the acceptor, the bill is discharged. The renunciation must be
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Cancellation of
bill.
Alteration of
bill.
in writing, unless the bill is delivered up to the acceptor.
(2) The liabilities of any party to a bill in like
manner be renounced by the holder before, at, or after its
maturity; but nothing in this section shall affect the rights of a
holder in due course without notice of the renunciation.
64. (1) Where a bill is intentionally cancelled by the
holder or his agent, and the cancellation is apparent thereon,
the bill is discharged.
(2) In like manner any party liable on a bill may be
discharged by the intentional cancellation of his signature by
the holder or his agent. In that case any endorser who would
have had a right of recourse against the party whose
signature is cancelled is also discharged.
(3) A cancellation made unintentionally, or under a
mistake, or without the authority of the holder, is inoperative;
but where a bill or any signature thereon appears to have
been cancelled, the burden of proof lies on the party who
alleges that the cancellation was made unintentionally, or
under a mistake, or without authority.
65. (1) Where a bill or acceptance is materially altered
without the assent of all parties liable on the bill, the bill is
avoided, except as against a party who has himself made,
authorised, or assented to the alteration, and subsequent
endorsers:
Provided that where a bill has been materially altered,
but the alteration is not apparent, and the bill is in the hands
of a holder in due course, that holder may avail himself of the
bill as if it had not been altered, and may enforce payment of
it according to its original tenor.
(2) In particular, the following alterations are
material, namely, any alteration of the date, the sum payable,
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Acceptance for
honour supra
protest.
Liability of
acceptor for
honour.
the time of payment, the place of payment, and, where a bill
has been accepted generally, the addition of a place of
payment without the acceptor’s assent.
ACCEPTANCE AND PAYMENT FOR HONOUR
66. (1) Where a bill has been protested for dishonour
by non- acceptance, or protested for better security, and is not
overdue, anyone, not being a party already liable thereon,
may, with the consent of the holder, intervene and accept the
bill supra protest, for the honour of any party liable thereon,
or for the honour of the person for whose account the bill is
drawn.
(2) A bill may be accepted for honour for part only
of the sum for which it is drawn.
(3) An acceptance for honour supra protest in
order to be valid must be—
(a) written on the bill and indicate that it
is an acceptance for honour; and
(b) signed by the acceptor for honour.
(4) Where an acceptance for honour does not
expressly state for whose honour it is made, it is deemed to be
an acceptance for the honour of the drawer.
(5) Where a bill payable after sight is accepted for
honour, its maturity is calculated from the date of the noting
for non-acceptance and not from the date of the acceptance
for honour.
67. (1) The acceptor for honour of a bill, by accepting
it, engages that he will, on due presentment, pay the bill
according to the tenor of his acceptance, if it is not paid by the
drawee, provided it has been duly presented for payment and
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Presentment to
acceptor for
honour.
Payment for
honour supra
protest.
protested for non-payment and he receives notice of those
facts.
(2) The acceptor for honour is liable to the holder
and to all parties to the bill subsequent to the party for whose
honour he has accepted.
68. (1) Where a dishonoured bill has been accepted
for honour supra protest or contains a reference in case of
need, it must be protested for non-payment before it is
presented for payment to the acceptor for honour or referee in
case of need.
(2) Where the address of the acceptor for honour is
in the same place where the bill is protested for non-
payment, the bill must be presented to him not later than the
day following its maturity; and where the address of the
acceptor for honour is in some place other than the place
where it was protested for non-payment, the bill must be
transmitted not later than the day following its maturity
for presentment to him.
(3) Delay in presentment or non-presentment is
excused by any circumstance which would excuse delay in
presentment for payment or non-presentment for payment.
(4) When a bill is dishonoured by the acceptor for
honour, it must be protested for non-payment by him.
69. (1) Where a bill has been protested for non-
payment, any person may intervene and pay it supra protest
for the honour of any party liable thereon, or for the honour
of the person for whose account the bill is drawn.
(2) Where two or more persons offer to pay a bill
for the honour of different parties, the person whose payment
will discharge most parties to the bill shall have the
preference.
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Holder’s right
to duplicate of
lost bill.
(3) Payment for honour supra protest, in order so
to operate and not as a mere voluntary payment, must be
attested by a notarial act of honour, which may be appended
to the protest or form an extension to it.
(4) The notarial act of honour must be founded on
a declaration made by the payer for honour, or his agent in
that behalf, declaring his intention to pay the bill for honour
and for whose honour he pays.
(5) Where a bill has been paid for honour, all
parties subsequent to the party for whose honour it is paid
are discharged, but the payer for honour is subrogated for,
and succeeds to both the rights and duties of, the holder as
regards the party for whose honour he pays and all parties
liable to that party.
(6) The payer for honour, on paying to the holder
the amount of the bill and the notarial expenses incidental to
its dishonour, is entitled to receive both the bill itself and the
protest, and if the holder does not, on demand, deliver them
up, he shall be liable to the payer for honour in damages.
(7) Where the holder of a bill refuses to receive
payment supra protest, he shall lose his right of recourse
against any party who would have been discharged by that
payment.
LOST INSTRUMENT
70. (1) Where a bill has been lost before it is overdue,
the person who was the holder of it may apply to the drawer
to give him another bill of the same tenor, giving security to
the drawer, if required, to indemnify him against all persons
whatever in case the bill alleged to have been lost is found
again.
(2) If the drawer, on request as aforesaid, refuses to
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Action on lost
bill.
Rules as to bill
in a set.
give the duplicate bill he may be compelled to do so.
71. In any action or proceeding upon a bill, the court,
or a judge, or a magistrate, as the case may be, may order that
the loss of the instrument shall not be set up, provided an
indemnity be given to the satisfaction of the court, or the
judge, or the magistrate, against the claims of any other
person upon the instrument in question.
BILL IN A SET
72. (1) Where a bill is drawn in a set, each part of the
set being numbered and containing a reference to the other
parts, the whole of the parts constitute one bill.
(2) Where the holder of a set endorses two or more
parts to different persons, he is liable on each and every part,
and every endorser subsequent to him is liable on the
part he has himself endorsed as if the said parts were
separate bills.
(3) Where two or more parts of a set are negotiated
to different holders in due course, the holder whose title first
accrues is, as between those holders, deemed the true owner
of the bill; but nothing in this subsection shall affect the rights
of a person who in due course accepts or pays the part first
presented to him.
(4) The acceptance may be written on any part, and
it must be written on one part only. If the drawee accepts
more than one part, and those accepted parts get into the
hands of different holders in due course, he is liable on each
of those parts as if it were a separate bill.
(5) When the acceptor of a bill drawn in a set pays
it without requiring the part bearing his acceptance to be
delivered up to him and that part at maturity is outstanding
in the hands of a holder in due course, he is liable to tile
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Rules where
laws conflict.
holder thereof.
(6) Subject to the preceding rules, where any one
part of a bill drawn in a set is discharged by payment or
otherwise the whole bill is discharged.
CONFLICT OF LAWS
73. Where a bill drawn in one country is negotiated,
accepted, or payable in another, the rights, duties, and
liabilities of the parties thereto are determined as follows—
(a) the validity of a bill as regards requisites in
form is determined by the law of the place of
issue, and the validity as regards requisites
in form of the supervening contracts, such as
acceptance, or endorsement, or acceptance
supra protest, is determined by the law of
the place where the contract was made:
Provided that—
(i) where a bill is issued out of Guyana, it
is not invalid by reason only that it is
not stamped in accordance with the
law of the place of issue; and
(ii) where a bill issued out of Guyana
conforms, as regards requisites in
form, to the law of Guyana, it may, for
the purpose of enforcing payment
thereof, be treated as valid as
between all persons who negotiate,
hold, or become parties to it in
Guyana;
(b) subject to this Act, the interpretation of the
drawing, endorsement, acceptance, or
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Definition of
“cheque”.
acceptance supra protest, of a bill is
determined by the law of the place where
that contract is made:
Provided that where an inland bill is endorsed in a
foreign country, the endorsement shall, as regards the payer,
be interpreted according to the law of Guyana;
(c) the duties of the holder with respect to
presentment for acceptance or payment, and
the necessity for or sufficiency of a protest
or notice of dishonour, or otherwise, are
determined by the law of the place where
the act is done or the bill is dishonoured;
(d) where a bill is drawn out of but payable in
Guyana, and the sum payable is not
expressed in the currency of Guyana, the
amount shall, in the absence of any express
stipulation, be calculated according to the
rate of exchange for sight drafts at the place
of payment on the day the bill is payable;
and
(e) where a bill is drawn in one country and is
payable in another, the due date thereof is
determined according to the law of the place
where it is payable.
PART II
CHEQUES ON A BANKER
74. (1) A cheque is a bill of exchange drawn on a
banker payable on demand.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Part, the
provisions of this Act applicable to a bill of exchange payable
on demand apply to a cheque.
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Presentment of
cheque for
payment.
Revocation of
banker’s
authority.
75. Subject to this Act—
(a) where a cheque is not presented for payment
within a reasonable time of its issue, and the
drawer or the person on whose account it is
drawn had the right, at the time of the
presentment, as between him and the
banker, to have the cheque paid and suffers
actual damage through the delay, he is
discharged to the extent of that damage, that
is to say, to the extent to which that drawer
or person is a creditor of the banker to a
larger amount than he would have been had
the cheque been paid;
(b) in determining what is a reasonable time,
regard shall be had to the nature of the
instrument, the usage of trade and of
bankers, and the facts of the particular case;
and
(c) the holder of the cheque as to which the
drawer or person is discharged shall be a
creditor, in lieu of that drawer or person, of
the banker to the extent of the discharge and
entitled to recover the amount from him.
76. The duty and authority of a banker to pay a
cheque drawn on him by his customer are determined by
countermand of payment and by notice of the customer’s
death.
or without the defined words “not
parallel transverse lines, either with
abbreviation thereof between two
(a) the words “and company” or any
addition of—
77. (1) Where a cheque bears across its face an
defined.
crossings
special
General and
CROSSED CHEQUES AND BANKERS' DRAFTS
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Crossing by
drawer or after
issue.
Crossing a
material part of
cheque.
Duties of
banker as to
negotiable”; or
(b) two parallel transverse lines simply,
either with or without the words “not
generally.
(2) Where a cheque bears across its face an
addition of the name of a banker, either with or without the
words “not negotiable”, that addition constitutes a crossing,
and the cheque is crossed specially and to that banker.
78. (1) A cheque may be crossed generally or specially
by the drawer.
(2) Where a cheque is uncrossed, the holder may
cross it generally or specially.
(3) Where a cheque is crossed generally, the holder
may cross it specially.
(4) Where a cheque is crossed generally or
specially, the holder may add the words “not negotiable”.
(5) Where a cheque is crossed specially, the banker
to whom it is crossed may again cross it specially to another
banker for collection.
(6) Where an uncrossed cheque, or a cheque
crossed generally, is sent to a banker for collection, he may
cross it specially to himself.
79. A crossing authorised by this Act is a material
part of the cheque; and no person may obliterate or, except as
authorised by this Act, add to or alter the crossing.
80. (1) Where a cheque is crossed specially to more
negotiable”,
that addition constitutes a crossing and the cheque is crossed
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crossed cheque.
Protection to
banker and
drawer where
cheque is
crossed.
Effect of
crossing on
holder.
than one banker, except when crossed to an agent for
collection being a banker, the banker on whom it is drawn
shall refuse payment thereof.
(2) Where the banker on whom a cheque is drawn
which is so crossed nevertheless pays it, or pays a cheque
crossed generally, otherwise than to a banker, or, if crossed
specially, otherwise than to a banker to whom it is crossed or
his agent for collection being a banker, he is liable to the true
owner of the cheque for any loss he sustains owing to the
cheque having been so paid:
Provided that where a cheque is presented for payment
which does not, at the time of presentment, appear to be
crossed, or to have had a crossing which has been obliterated,
or to have been added to or altered otherwise than as
authorised by this Act, the banker paying the cheque in good
faith and without negligence shall not be responsible or incur
any liability, nor shall the payment be questioned by reason
of the cheque having been crossed, or of the crossing having
been obliterated or having been added to or altered otherwise
than as authorised by this Act, and of payment having been
made otherwise than to a banker or to the banker to whom
the cheque is or was crossed, or to his agent for collection
being a banker, as the case may be.
81. Where the banker on whom a crossed cheque is
drawn in good faith and without negligence pays it, if crossed
generally, to a banker, and, if crossed specially, to the banker
to whom it is crossed or his agent for collection being a
banker, the banker paying the cheque, and, if the cheque has
come into the hands of the payee, the drawer, shall
respectively be entitled to the same rights and be placed in the
same position as if payment of the cheque had been made to
the true owner thereof.
82. Where a person takes a crossed cheque which
bears on it the words “not negotiable”, he shall not have, and
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Protection to
collecting
banker.
Application of
sections 77 to
83 to bankers’
drafts.
[56 of 1932]
Definition of
“promissory
note”.
shall not be capable of giving, a better title to the cheque than
that of the person from whom he took it.
83. (1) Where a banker, in good faith and without
negligence, receives payment for a customer of a cheque
crossed generally or specially to himself, and the customer
has no title or a defective title thereto, the banker shall not
incur any liability to the true owner of the cheque by reason
only of having received the payment.
(2) A banker receives payment of a crossed
cheque for a customer within the meaning of this section,
notwithstanding that he credits his customer’s account with
the amount of the cheque before receiving payment thereof.
84. (1) Sections 77 to 83 (inclusive) shall apply to a
banker’s draft when crossed as if the draft were a crossed
cheque.
(2) For the purposes of this section the expression
“banker’s draft” means a draft payable on demand drawn by
or on behalf of a bank upon itself, whether payable at the
head office or some other office of the bank.
PART III
PROMISSORY NOTES
85. (1) A promissory note is an unconditional promise
in writing made by one person to another, signed by the
maker, engaging to pay on demand, or at a fixed or
determinable future time, a sum certain in money to, or to the
order of, a specified person, or to bearer.
(2) An instrument in the form of a note payable to
the maker’s order is not a note within the meaning of this
section, unless and until it is endorsed by the maker.
(3) A note is not invalid by reason only that it
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Delivery
necessary.
Joint and
several notes.
Note payable
on demand.
Presentment of
note for
payment.
contains also a pledge of collateral security, with authority to
sell or dispose thereof.
(4) A note which is, or on the face of it purports to
be, both made and payable within Guyana is an inland note.
Any other note is a foreign note.
86. A note is inchoate and incomplete until delivery
thereof to the payee or bearer.
87. (1) A note may be made by two or more makers;
and they may be liable thereon jointly, or jointly and
severally, according to its tenor.
(2) Where a note runs “I promise to pay”, and is
signed by two or more persons, it is deemed to be their joint
and several note.
88. (1) Where a note payable on demand has been
endorsed, it must be presented for payment within a
reasonable time of the endorsement. If it is not so presented,
the endorser is discharged.
(2) In determining what is a reasonable time,
regard shall be had to the nature of the instrument, the usages
of trade, and the facts of the particular case.
(3) Where a note payable on demand is negotiated,
it is not deemed to be overdue, for the purpose of affecting
the holder with defects of title of which he had no notice,
because it appears that a reasonable time for presenting it for
payment has elapsed since its issue.
89. (1) Where a note is, in the body of it, made payable
at a particular place, it must be presented for payment at that
place in order to render the maker liable. In any other case,
presentment for payment is not necessary in order to render
the maker liable.
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Liability of
maker.
Application of
Part I to notes.
(2) Presentment for payment is necessary in order
to render the endorser of a note liable.
(3) Where a note is, in the body of it, made
payable at a particular place, presentment at that place is
necessary in order to render an endorser liable; but when a
place of payment is indicated by way of memorandum only,
presentment at that place is sufficient to render the endorser
liable, but a presentment to the maker elsewhere, if sufficient
in other respects, shall also suffice.
90. The maker of a note, by making it—
(a) engages that he will pay it according to its
tenor; and
(b) is precluded from denying to a holder in
due course the existence of the payee and
his then capacity to endorse.
91. (1) Subject to this Part, and except as by this
section provided, the provisions of this Act relating to bills of
exchange apply, with the necessary modifications, to
promissory notes.
(2) In applying those provisions, the maker of a
note shall be deemed to correspond with the acceptor of a bill,
and the first endorser of a note shall be deemed to correspond
with the drawer of an accepted bill payable to drawer’s order.
(3) The following provisions as to bills do not
apply to notes, namely, provisions relating to—
(a) presentment for acceptance;
(b) acceptance;
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Definition of
“good faith”.
Signature.
Computation
of time.
[4 of 1972]
When noting
equivalent to
protest.
(c) acceptance supra protest; and
(d) bills in a set.
(4) Where a foreign note is dishonoured, protest
thereof is unnecessary.
PART IV
SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
92. A thing is deemed to be done in good faith, within
the meaning of this Act, where it is in fact done honestly,
whether it is done negligently or not.
93. (1) Where by this Act any instrument or writing is
required to be signed by any person, it is not necessary that
he should sign it with his own hand, but it is sufficient if his
signature is written thereupon by some other person by or
under his authority.
(2) In the case of a corporation, where by this
Act any instrument or writing is required to be signed, it is
sufficient if the instrument or writing is sealed with the
corporate seal, but nothing in this section shall be construed
as requiring the bill or note of a corporation to be under seal.
94. (1) Where by this Act the time limited for doing
any act or thing is less than three days, in reckoning that time
non-business days are excluded.
(2) Non-business days, for the purposes of this Act
are public holidays.
(3) Any other day is a business day.
95. For the purposes of this Act, where a bill or note is
required to be protested within a specified time or before
some further proceeding is taken, it is sufficient that the bill or
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Protest when
notary not
accessible.
Schedule.
Extension of
provisions as to
crossed
cheques.
Savings.
[29 of 1991]
note has been noted for protest before the expiration of the
specified time or the taking of the proceeding; and the formal
protest may be extended at any time thereafter as of the date
of the noting.
96. (1) Where a dishonoured bill or note is authorised
or required to be protested, and the services of a notary
cannot be obtained at the place where the bill or note is
dishonoured, any householder or substantial resident of the
place may, in the presence of two witnesses, give a certificate,
signed by them, attesting the dishonour of the bill or note,
and the certificate shall in all respects operate as if it were a
formal protest of the bill or note.
(2) The form contained in the Schedule may be
used in that case with the necessary modifications, and, if
used, shall be sufficient.
97. (1) The provisions of this Act as to crossed
cheques shall apply to a warrant for payment of dividend and
to any document issued by a customer of a banker and
intended to enable any one to obtain payment from the
banker of the sum mentioned in the document, and shall so
extend in like manner as if the document were a cheque:
Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to
render the document a negotiable instrument.
(2) For the purpose of this section, the Accountant
General shall be deemed to be a banker, and any public
officer drawing on him shall be deemed to be a customer.
98. (1) The rules in insolvency relating to bills of
exchange, promissory notes, and cheques shall continue to
apply thereto notwithstanding anything contained in this Act.
(2) The rules of the common law of England,
including the law merchant, shall, except in so far as they are
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c. 80:03
c.89:01
Saving as to
existing bill,
cheque, or note.
s. 96
inconsistent with the express provisions of this Act, continue
to apply to bills of exchange, promissory notes, and cheques.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall affect—
(a) the provisions of the Stamp Duties
Management Act or any law for the
time being in force relating to the
revenue; or
(b) the provisions of the Companies Act
or any Act relating to banks or
companies; or
(c) the validity of any usage relating to
dividend warrants, or the
endorsement thereof.
99. Nothing in this Act shall affect any bill, cheque, or
note drawn or made before the commencement of this Act.
SCHEDULE
FORM
FORM OF PROTEST WHEN THE SERVICES OF A
NOTARY CANNOT BE OBTAINED
Know all men that I, A.B. (householder), of
.........................at the request of C.D., there being no notary
public available, did, on the........ day of ............................ 20 ....,
at .............................demand payment (or acceptance) of the bill
of exchange hereunder written, from E.F., to which demand
be made answer (state answer, if any); wherefore I now, in the
presence of G.H. and J.K., do protest the said bill of exchange.
Dated this ....................... day of
LAWS OF GUYANA
62 Cap. 90:13 Bills of Exchange
L.R.O. 1/2012
...............................20......
(Signed)
A.B.}
G.H.} Witnesses
J.K. }
____________________
all that is written thereon should be underwritten.
N.B.- The bill itself should be annexed, or a copy of the bill and
