Section 92-98 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part V [Supplementary] of the Act.

Section 92 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Good faith)

  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.

Section 93 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Signature)

 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 thereon 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 be sealed with the corporate seal.

(3)            Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the bill or note of a corporation to be under seal.

Section 94 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Computation of time)

(1) Where, by this Act, the time limited for doing any act or thing is less than three days, in reckoning time non-business days are excluded.

(2) “Non-business days” for the purposes of this Act means-

(a) Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas Day;

(b) a public holiday.

(3) Any other day is a business day.

Section 95 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(When noting equivalent to protest)

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 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.

Section 96 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Protest when notary not accessible)

 (1)            When 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 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, and the certificate shall in all respects operate as if it were a formal protest of the bill.

(2)            The form given in the Schedule to this Act may be used with necessary modifications, and if used shall be sufficient.

Section 97 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Dividend warrants may be crossed)

 The provisions of this Act as to crossed cheques shall apply to a warrant for payment of dividend.

Section 98 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Savings)

(1) The rules of common law, including the law merchant, save in so far as they are inconsistent with the express provisions of this Act, shall continue to apply to bills of exchange, promissory notes, and cheques.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall affect-

(a) the provisions of the Stamp Duties Act, or of any enactment, or orders amending it, or any enactment for the time being in force relating to the revenue;

(b) the validity of any usage relating to dividend warrants, or the endorsements thereof.

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Credit: CommonLII

Section 85-91 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part IV [Promissory Notes] of the Act.

Section 85 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Promissory note defined)

 (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 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 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 Nigeria is an inland note. Any other note is a foreign note.

Section 86 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Delivery necessary)

A promissory note is inchoate and incomplete until delivery thereof to the payee or bearer.

Section 87 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Joint and several notes)

(1)            A promissory 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.

Section 88 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Note payable on demand)

(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 be 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 usage 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, by reason that it appears that a reasonable time for presenting it for payment has elapsed since its issue.

Section 89 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Presentment of note for payment)

 (1)            Where a promissory note is in the body of it made Presentment of note 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.

(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.

Section 90 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Liability of maker)

 The maker of a promissory note by making it-

(a)            engages that he will pay it according to its tenor;

(b)            is precluded from denying to a holder in due course the existence of the payee and his then capacity to endorse.

(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.

Section 91 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Application of Part II to notes)

 (1)            Subject to the provisions in this Part of this Act, 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;

(c)            acceptance supra protest;

(d)            bills in a set.

(4)            Where a foreign note is dishonoured, protest thereof is unnecessary.

Section 78-84 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part III [Crossed Cheques] of the Act, among other sections.

Section 78 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(General and special crossings defined)

(1)            Where a cheque bears across its face an addition of-

(a)            the words “and company ” or any abbreviation thereof between two parallel transverse lines either with or without the words “not negotiable”; or

(b)            two parallel transverse lines simply, either with or without the words “not negotiable”, that addition constitutes a crossing, and the cheque is crossed 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.

Section 79 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Crossing by drawer or after issue)

(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.

Section 80 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Crossing a material part of cheque)

 A crossing authorised by this Act is a material part of the cheque; it shall not be lawful for any person to obliterate or, except as authorised by this Act, to add to or alter crossing.

Section 81 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Duties of banker as to crossed cheques)

 (1)            Where a cheque is crossed specially to more 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 the same, or pays a cheque crossed generally otherwise than to a banker, or if crossed specially otherwise than to the 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 may sustain 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.

Section 82 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Protection to banker and drawer where cheque is crossed)

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.

Section 83 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Effect of crossing on holder)

Where a person takes a crossed cheque which bears on it the words “not negotiable”, he shall not have and shall not be capable of giving a better title to the cheque than that which the person from whom he took it had.

Section 84 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Extension of enactments relating to crossed cheques)

The provisions of this Act relating to crossed cheques shall, so far as applicable, have effect in relation to a prescribed instrument other than a cheque as those provisions have effect in relation to a cheque.

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Credit: CommonLII

Section 69-72 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 69, 70, 71, 72 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part II [Bills of Exchange – Lost Instruments, Bill in a Set, & Conflict of Laws] of the Act, among other sections.

>> Lost Instruments

Section 69 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Holder’s right to duplicate of lost bill)

(1)            Where a bill has been lost before it is overdue, the person who was the holder of it may apply for 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 shall be found again.

(2)            If the drawer on request as aforesaid refuses to give such duplicate bill he may be compelled to do so.

Section 70 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Action on lost bill)

In any action or proceeding upon a bill, the court may order that the loss of the instrument shall not be set up, provided that an indemnity be given to the satisfaction of the court against the claims of any other person upon the instrument in question.

>> Bill in a Set

Section 71 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Rules as to sets)

(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 every such 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 such holder 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.

(5)            If the drawee accepts more than one part, and such accepted parts get into the hands of different holders in due course, he is liable on every such part as if it were a separate bill.

(6)            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 the holder in due course, he is liable to the holder thereof.

(7)            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

Section 72 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Rules where laws conflict)

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 such contract was made:

                 Provided that –

(i)             where a bill is issued out of Nigeria it is not invalid by reason only that it is not stamped in accordance with the law of the place of issue,

(ii)            where a bill issued out of Nigeria conforms, as regards requisites in form, to the law of Nigeria, 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 Nigeria;

(b)            subject to the provisions of this Act, the interpretation of the drawing, endorsement, acceptance, or acceptance supra protest of a bill, is determined by the law of the place where such contract was 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 Nigeria;

(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 Nigeria and the sum payable is not expressed in the currency of Nigeria, the amount shall, in the absence of some expressed stipulation, be calculated according to the rate of exchange for sight drafts at the place of payment on the day the bill is payable;

(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.

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Credit: CommonLII

Section 65-68 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 65, 66, 67, 68 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part II [Bills of Exchange – Acceptance and Payment for Honour] of the Act.

Section 65 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Acceptance for honour supra protest)

(1) Where a bill of exchange has been protested for dishonour by non-acceptance, or protested for better security, and is not overdue, any person, 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-

(a) be written on the bill, and indicate that it is an acceptance for honour;

(b) be 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.

Section 66 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Liability of acceptor for honour)

 (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 protested for non-payment, and that he receives notice of these facts.

(2)            The acceptor for honour is liable to the holder and to all the parties to bill subsequent to the party for whose honour he has accepted.

Section 67 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Presentment to acceptor for honour)

(1)           Where a dishonoured bill has been accepted for honour supra protest or contains a reference in case of presented 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 be forwarded 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 of exchange is dishonoured by the acceptor for honour it must be protested for non-payment by him.

Section 68 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Payment for honour supra protest)

(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.

(3) Payment for honour supra protest in order to operate as such 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 of 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 intentions 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. If the holder do 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 payment supra protest he shall lose his right of recourse against any party who would have been discharged by such payment.

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Credit: CommonLII

Section 59-64 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part II [Bills of Exchange – Discharge of Bill] of the Act.

Section 59 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Payment in due course)

(1)            A bill is discharged by payment in due course by or on behalf of the drawee or acceptor.

(2)            “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.

(3)            Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, when a bill is paid by the drawee 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 payment thereof against the acceptor, but may not reissue the bill;

(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.

(4)            Where an accommodation bill is paid in due course by the party accommodated the bill is discharged.

Section 60 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Banker paying demand draft whereon endorsement is forged)

(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 such endorsement has been forged or made without authority.

(2)            A draft or order drawn by a banker on the head office or a branch of his bank in Nigeria for a sum of money payable to order on demand shall be deemed to be a bill for the purposes of this section.

Section 61 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Acceptor the holder at maturity)

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.

Section 62 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Express waiver)

 (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 and the renunciation must be in writing unless the bill is delivered up to the acceptor.

(2)            The liabilities of any party to a bill may 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.

Section 63 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Cancellation)

 (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 such 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.

Section 64 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Alteration of bill)

(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, such 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, 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.

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Credit: CommonLII

Section 53-58 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part II [Bills of Exchange – Liabilities of Parties] of the Act.

Section 53 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Bill not assignment of funds in hands of drawee)

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.

Section 54 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Liability of acceptor)

The acceptor of a bill by accepting it –

(a)            engages that he will pay it according to the tenor of his acceptance;

(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 drawer’s order, the then capacity of the drawer to endorse, but not the genuineness or validity of his endorsement,

(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.

Section 55 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Liability of drawer or endorser)

 (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 be dishonoured he will compensate the holder or an endorser who is compelled to pay it, provided that the requisite proceedings on dishonour be duly taken;

(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 be dishonoured he will compensate the holder or a subsequent endorser who is compelled to pay it, provided that the requisite proceedings on dishonour be 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; (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.

Section 56 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Stranger signing bill liable as endorser)

Where a person signs a bill otherwise than as a drawer or acceptor, he thereby incurs the liabilities of an endorser to a holder in due course.

Section 57 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Measure of damages against parties to dishonoured bill)

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,

(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;

(c) where by this Act interest may be recovered as damages, such interest may, if justice require 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.

Section 58 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Transferor by delivery and transferee)

(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.

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Credit: CommonLII

Section 46-52 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part II [Bills of Exchange – General Duties of the Holder] of the Act, among other sections.

Section 46 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Excuses for delay or non-presentment for payment)

(1)            Delay in making presentment for payment is excused when the delay is caused by circumstances beyond the control of the holder, and not imputable to his default, misconduct or negligence; and 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; and 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;

(b)            where the drawee is a fictitious person;

(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;

(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;

(e)            by waiver of presentment, express or implied.

Section 47 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Dishonour by non-payment)

(1)            A bill is dishonoured by non-payment –

(a)            When it is duly presented for payment and payment is refused or cannot be obtained or, where an advice is sent through the post office in pursuance of subsection (3) of section 45 of this Act, payment is not obtained –

(i)             in the case of a bill not payable on demand on or before the date the bill falls due; or

(ii)            in the case of a bill payable on demand, within ten days from the time the advice is posted.

(b)            when presentment is excused and the bill is overdue and unpaid.

(2)            Subject to the provisions of this Act, when a bill is dishonoured by non-payment, an immediate right of recourse against the drawer and endorsers accrues to the holder.

Section 48 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Notice of dishonour and effect of non-notice)

Subject to the provisions of 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 such 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;

(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 nonpayment unless the bill shall in the meantime have been accepted.

Section 49 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Rules as to notice of dishonour)

Notice of dishonour, in order to be valid and effectual, must be given in accordance with the following rules, that is-

(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 ensures for the benefit of 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 ensures 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 which sufficiently identify the bill, and intimate 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;

(g)            a written notice need not be signed and an insufficient written notice may be supplemented and validated by verbal communication; and 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 such there be, and with the exercise of reasonable diligence he can be found;

(j)            where the drawer or endorser is bankrupt or insolvent, notice may be given either to the party himself or to the trustee or official 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 such notice for the others;

(l)            the notice may be given as soon as the bill is dishonoured and must be given within a reasonable time thereafter; and in the absence of special circumstances, notice shall not deemed to have been given within a reasonable time unless–

(i)            where the person giving and the 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,

(ii)            where the person giving and the person to receive notice reside in different places, the notice is sent off on the day after the dishonour of the bill, if there be a post at a convenient hour on that day, and if there be no such 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 the parties liable on the bill, or he may give notice to his principal; and 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 such 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 such notice, the same period of time for giving notice to antecedent parties that the holder has after the dishonour;

(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.

Section 50 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Excuses for non-notice and delay)

 (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 imputable 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;

(b)            by waiver express or implied; and notice of dishonour may be waived before the time of giving notice has arrived, or after the omission to give due notice;

(c)            as regards the drawer in the following cases-

(i)             where 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 drawer, under no obligation to accept or pay the bill,

(v)            where the drawer has countermanded payment;

(d)            as regards the endorser in the following cases-

(i)             where the drawee is a fictitious person or a 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,

(iii)            where the bill was accepted or made for his accommodation.

Section 51 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Noting of protest of bill)

 (1)            Where an inland bill has been dishonoured, it may, if the holder think fit, be noted for non-acceptance or non-payment, as the case may be; but it shall not be necessary to note or protest any such 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 such, has been dishonoured by non-acceptance, it must be duly protested for non-acceptance, and where such a 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 be not so protested the drawer or 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.

(3)            A bill which has been protested for non-acceptance may be subsequently protested for non-payment.

(4)            Subject to the provisions of this Act, when a bill is noted or protested, it must be noted on the day of its dishonour or on the next succeeding business day thereafter. 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 bankrupt or 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 honours, then not later than the next business day;

(b)            when a bill drawn payable at the place of business or residence of some person other than the drawee, has been dishonoured by non-acceptance, it must be protested for non-payment at the place where it is expressed to be payable, and no further presentment for payment to, or demand on, the drawee is necessary.

(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;

(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 imputable to his default, misconduct, or negligence; when the cause of delay ceases to operate, the bill must be noted or protested with reasonable diligence.

Section 52 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Duties of holder as regards acceptor)

 (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 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.

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Credit: CommonLII