Tunis — The decriminalisation of bounced cheques in Tunisia will certainly put an end to the rule of the jungle in the financial transactions sector, which for several years has ruined thousands of families, investors and young promoters and caused the loss of thousands of jobs.
Adopted by the Cabinet meeting on May 22, 2024, the bill amending the provisions of Article 411 of the Commercial Code and Chapter 96 of the Criminal Code aims to ease the penalties (criminal and financial) for bounced cheques and to consider the possibility of replacing the prison sentence with an alternative penalty.
It also provides for making it a criminal offence to receive a guarantee cheque, introducing the principle of cumulating sentences handed down in the same trial, reviewing prison sentences handed down by different courts and broadening the scope of settlement procedures to include the penalty enforcement phase.
Contacted by TAP, chartered accountant Hamed Mama described the amendment as 'good news, provided that we manage to set up a system that provides a better guarantee of debt recovery, for example by adopting the concept of electronic cheques or introducing the use of bank cards."
However, spokesman for the National Association of SMEs Abderrazzek Haouas considers that there is nothing new in this amendment, especially as the government intends to maintain the penalty aspect.
'There are no additions or amendments to Article 411 regarding the criminalisation of the receipt of a guarantee cheque," he pointed out, adding that the Association 'presented a roadmap which unfortunately was not taken into account by the supervisory authorities.'
A disappointing new bill
For many business leaders, notably those already convicted of bounced cheques, the new bill is 'a disappointment.'
Ons, a once prosperous young businesswoman who has lived in seclusion for several years, said that the problem today is not the amendment of article 411 of the Commercial Code, but rather the cancellation of legal proceedings.
Sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for bouncing cheques worth TND 30,000, the young former business leader considers it urgent to declare an amnesty and release prisoners sentenced to several years' imprisonment.
'Trials for bounced cheques have shattered entire families and caused the loss of dozens of jobs,' she indicated, calling for 'a revolutionary decision that takes account these human stories and meets the needs of the current situation.'
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At a legal level, the bill will not solve the problem
The abolition of the penalty of imprisonment will not have a positive impact because the issuer of the cheque may at the same time be a beneficiary in other transactions, argues legal expert Wassim Ajengui.
'They are caught between increasing or reducing the penalty incurred,' said the official, adding that 'increasing the penalty makes it impossible to repay the debt and reducing it encourages people to write bounced cheques.'
'He added that the new provisions should be redrafted as a matter of urgency before being adopted by the Assembly of People's Representatives, as the proposed revisions are not effective.'
A bounced cheque generally has negative consequences for the individual, as the penalty is aimed at the economically active member of society, which means more debts, the official added.
According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Justice, 204 people were imprisoned for the offence of issuing bounced cheques at the end of April 2024, out of a total of 496 people taken into police custody.
In addition, 11,265 complaints were lodged by the Department of Justice for offences related to the issuing of bounced cheques.
Translated by Ben Dhaou Nejiba
