Article 54 of the Saudi Commercial Papers Law
المادة 54 من نظام الأوراق التجارية · الفرع الرابع: الامتناع عن الوفاء. أولاً: الاحتجاج
Article 54 requires refusal to accept or pay a bill of exchange to be recorded in an official document called a protest, and sets its contents, registration and the publication of non-payment protests.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
يجب على حامل الكمبيالة أن يثبت الامتناع عن قبولها أو عن وفائها في ورقة رسمية تسمى (احتجاج عدم القبول) أو (احتجاج عدم الوفاء)، ولا يغني أي إجراء آخر عن هذا الاحتجاج وتحرر ورقة الاحتجاج بوساطة الجهة التي يعينها وزير التجارة والصناعة. وتشتمل ورقة الاحتجاج على صورة حرفية للكمبيالة ولما أثبت فيها من عبارات القبول والتظهير والضمان وغير ذلك من البيانات، وعلى الإنذار بوفاء قيمة الكمبيالة، ويذكر فيها حضور أو غياب الملتزم بالقبول أو الوفاء. ويجب على الجهة المذكورة أن تترك صورة من ورقة الاحتجاج لمن حررت في مواجهته، وعلى هذه الجهة أن تقيد أوراق الاحتجاج بتمامها يوما فيوما مع مراعاة ترتيب التواريخ في سجل خاص مرقم الصفحات ومؤشر عليه وفقا للأصول. ويجري القيد في السجل المذكور بالطريقة المتبعة في سجلات الفهرس.
وعلى الجهة المذكورة أيضا خلال العشرة الأيام الأولى من كل شهر أن ترسل إلى مكتب السجل التجاري قائمة باحتجاجات عدم الوفاء التي حررت خلال الشهر السابق عن الكمبيالات المقبولة. ويمسك مكتب السجل التجاري دفترا لقيد هذه الاحتجاجات، ويجوز لكل شخص الاطلاع عليها أو استخراج صور مطابقة منها مقابل الرسوم المقررة، ويقوم المكتب بعمل نشرة تتضمن هذه الاحتجاجات.
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 54 explained in plain English
A protest is the official means by which the holder of a bill of exchange proves that the drawee refused to accept or pay it. Article 54 regulates it as follows:
- It is required and nothing replaces it: the holder must record the refusal in an official document called a "protest for non-acceptance" or a "protest for non-payment," and no other procedure takes its place.
- The body that draws it up: the document is drawn up through the body designated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
- Contents: a literal copy of the bill and of the acceptance, endorsement, guarantee and other wording on it, a demand for payment of the value, and a statement of the presence or absence of the person bound to accept or pay.
- Copy and registration: the body leaves a copy of the document with the person against whom it was drawn up, and registers protest documents in full day by day in date order in a special register with numbered pages.
- Reporting and publication: within the first ten days of each month, the body sends the commercial register office a list of the protests for non-payment drawn up in the previous month on accepted bills. The office records them in a book that any person may inspect and obtain copies from on payment of the prescribed fees, and it issues a bulletin containing them.
A protest is therefore not a mere formality but the proof the law requires and nothing else takes its place, and protests for non-payment on accepted bills become open to inspection. Article 55 sets the deadlines for making protests.
To ensure the protest and its deadlines are valid, it is advisable to seek the help of a lawyer specializing in commercial cases and commercial papers.
Practical example
A supplier in Riyadh presented an accepted bill of exchange to the drawee on its due date and he refused to pay. A WhatsApp message or witness statements are not enough to prove this; under Article 54 he must make a "protest for non-payment" through the body designated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry. After it is drawn up, it is included in the list the body sends to the commercial register office in the first ten days of the following month.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
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Frequently asked questions about Article 54 of the Saudi Commercial Papers Law
What is a protest for non-payment of a bill of exchange?
It is an official document by which the holder proves the obligor's refusal to pay the bill, drawn up by the body designated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
Can a notice or other procedure replace the protest?
No, Article 54 provides that no other procedure takes the place of this protest.
Can protests for non-payment be inspected?
Yes, the commercial register office keeps a book recording protests for non-payment on accepted bills, and any person may inspect them or obtain copies on payment of the prescribed fees.
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.