Article 47 of the Saudi Commercial Papers Law
المادة 47 من نظام الأوراق التجارية · الفرع الثاني: كيفية الوفاء
Article 47 allows any debtor on a bill not presented for payment on its due date to deposit its amount with the body designated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, at the holder's expense and responsibility.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
إذا لم تقدم الكمبيالة للوفاء في يوم الاستحقاق جاز لكل مدين بها إيداع مبلغها لدى الجهة التي يعينها وزير التجارة والصناعة، ويكون الإيداع على نفقة الحامل وتحت مسئوليته، وتسلم الجهة المذكورة المودع وثيقة يذكر فيها إيداع المبلغ وقدره وتاريخ الكمبيالة وتاريخ الاستحقاق واسم من حررت في الأصل لمصلحته. فإذا طالب الحامل المدين بالوفاء وجب على المدين تسليم وثيقة الإيداع مقابل تسلم الكمبيالة.
وللحامل قبض المبلغ من الجهة المشار إليها بموجب هذه الوثيقة، وإذا لم يسلم المدين وثيقة الإيداع إلى الحامل وجب عليه وفاء قيمة الكمبيالة.
This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Article 47 explained in plain English
A debtor may wish to pay a bill of exchange, but the holder does not present it on the due date. Article 47 gives the debtor a way out of that position:
- Deposit: if the bill is not presented for payment on the due date, any debtor on it may deposit its amount with the body designated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
- Expense and responsibility: the deposit is at the holder's expense and under the holder's responsibility.
- The deposit document: the body gives the depositor a document stating the deposit of the amount and its sum, the date of the bill, the due date, and the name of the person for whose benefit it was originally drawn.
- When the holder claims: the debtor must hand over the deposit document in exchange for receiving the bill, and the holder may collect the amount from the body on the strength of this document.
- If the document is not handed over: if the debtor does not hand the deposit document to the holder, he or she must pay the value of the bill.
So the holder who does not present the bill on its due date bears the expense and responsibility of the deposit. The article does not name the competent body, but leaves its designation to the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
To find out the competent body at present and the deposit procedures, you can consult a lawyer specializing in commercial cases and commercial papers.
Practical example
An establishment in Abha owes SAR 30,000 on a bill of exchange, and the due date passed without the holder appearing. The establishment deposited the amount with the body designated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry and received the deposit document. When the holder came to claim a month later, the establishment gave him the document in exchange for receiving the bill, so that he could collect the amount from that body, with the expense of the deposit falling on him.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
How we write and review contentA question about Article 47 of Commercial Papers Law?
Describe what happened and specialist lawyers answer. You can write in English.
- Completely free
- Lawyers from the directory answer
- Your name stays hidden
Commercial & Corporate Law lawyers: ask a specialist about your case
Describe your situation briefly and we'll suggest a lawyer who specialises in this law
Commercial & Corporate Law lawyers
Lawyers who handle this kind of case
شركة امتداد النظام للمحاماة والاستشارات المهنية
- Labour & Employment Law
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Law
- Commercial & Corporate Law
Frequently asked questions about Article 47 of the Saudi Commercial Papers Law
What can I do if the holder of a bill does not present it on time?
Article 47 allows any debtor on the bill to deposit its amount with the body designated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, at the holder's expense and responsibility.
How does the holder get the deposited amount?
The debtor hands over the deposit document in exchange for receiving the bill, and the holder then collects the amount from the body on the strength of the document.
What if the debtor does not hand the deposit document to the holder?
He or she must then pay the value of the bill.
More articles on Payment of a Bill and Protest
- Article 4
The article permits stipulating that a bill of exchange be paid at the domicile of a person other than the drawee, whether in the drawee's town or in another.
يجوز اشتراط وفاء الكمبيالة في موطن شخص آخر غير المسحوب عليه سواء كان هذا الموطن في الجهة التي فيها موطن المسحوب عليه أو في جهة أخرى.
- Article 11
Article 11 makes the drawer of a bill of exchange guarantee its acceptance and payment, and allows the drawer to stipulate exemption from guaranteeing acceptance but not payment.
يضمن صاحب الكمبيالة قبولها ووفاءها، ويجوز أن يشترط إعفاءه من ضمان القبول دون ضمان الوفاء.
- Article 15
Article 15 makes the endorser guarantee acceptance and payment of the bill of exchange unless otherwise stipulated, and lets the endorser prohibit re-endorsement, in which case the endorser does not guarantee to those who receive the bill by a later endorsement.
يضمن المظهر قبول الكمبيالة ووفائها ما لم يشترط غير ذلك. ويجوز له حظر تظهيرها من جديد، وفي هذه الحالة لا يكون ملزما بالضمان لمن تؤول إليهم الكمبيالة بتظهير لاحق.
- Article 20
Article 20 provides that an endorsement after the due date has the effects of an earlier endorsement, that one after protest for non-payment or after the protest deadline has the effects of an assignment of a right, and that backdating an endorsement is forgery.
التظهير اللاحق لميعاد الاستحقاق يرتب آثار التظهير السابق له، أما التظهير اللاحق لاحتجاج عدم الدفع أو الحاصل بعد انقضاء الميعاد المحدد لعمل هذا الاحتجاج فيرتب آث
- Article 24
Article 24 sets the form of acceptance of a bill of exchange, written on it with the word "accepted" or similar words and signed by the drawee, requires dating the acceptance in certain cases, and lets the holder record an undated acceptance by protest.
يكتب القبول على ذات الكمبيالة ويؤدى بلفظ (مقبول) أو بأية عبارة أخرى تفيد هذا المعنى ويوقعه المسحوب عليه، ويعتبر قبولا مجرد وضع المسحوب عليه توقيعه على صدر الكمب
- Article 27
Article 27 provides that where the drawer designates a place of payment other than the drawee's domicile without naming who is to pay there, the drawee may name that person at acceptance, failing which the acceptor must pay at the place of payment.
إذا عين الساحب في الكمبيالة مكانا للوفاء غير موطن المحسوب عليه دون أن يعين من يجب الوفاء عنده جاز للمسحوب عليه تعيينه عند القبول، فإذا لم يعينه اعتبر القابل ملز
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.