Section 73-77 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

Section 73, 74, 75, 76, 77 of the Bill of Exchange Act [Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990] is under Part III [Cheques on a Banker] of the Act, among other sections. Section 73 contains definition of a cheque according to the Bill of Exchange Act.

Section 73 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Cheque defined)

A cheque is a bill of exchange drawn on a banker payable on demand; and 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.

Section 74 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Presentment of cheque for payment)

Subject to the provisions of 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 such 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 such damage, that is to say, to the extent to which such drawer or person is a creditor of such banker
to a larger amount than he would have been had such 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;

(c)            the holder of such cheque as to which such drawer or person is discharged shall be a creditor, in lieu of such drawer or person, of such banker to the extent of such discharge, and entitled to recover the amount from him.

Section 75 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Revocation of banker’s authority)

 The duty and authority of a banker to pay a cheque drawn on him by his customer are determined by-

(a) countermand of payment;

(b) notice of the customer’s death.

Section 76 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Payment by bankers of unendorsed cheques and other instruments)

 (1)            Where a banker, in good faith and in the ordinary course of business, pays a prescribed instrument drawn on him to a banker, he does not in doing so incur any liability by reason only of the absence of, or irregularity in, endorsement of the instrument and

(a)            in the case of a cheque, he is deemed to have paid it in due course;

(b)            in the case of any other prescribed instrument, the payment discharges the instrument.

(2)            A prescribed instrument which is unendorsed but appears to have been paid by the banker on whom it is drawn is evidence of the receipt by the payee of the sum mentioned in the instrument.

(3)            For the purposes of subsection (1) of section 60 of this Act (which provides that in certain circumstances a cheque shall be deemed to be paid in due course though its endorsements are forged or unauthorised), a document payable to order which is a prescribed instrument by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 4 of this Act shall be deemed to be a bill payable to order on demand.

Section 77 Bill of Exchange Act 1990

(Protection of collecting banks)

(1)            A banker who gives value for, or has a lien on, a cheque payable to order which the payee delivers to him for collection either without endorsing it regularly had such rights, if any, as he would have had if upon delivery the payee had endorsed it regularly in blank.

(2)            Where a banker, in good faith and without negligence-

(a)            receives payment for a customer of a prescribed instrument to which the customer has no title or a defective title; or

(b)            having credited the customer’s account with the amount of such a prescribed instrument, receives payment of the instrument for himself, the banker does not incur any liability to the true owner of the instrument by reason only of his having received payment of it; and a banker is not to be treated for the purpose of this subsection as having been negligent by reason only of his failure to concern himself
with the absence of, or irregularity in, endorsement of a prescribed instrument of which the customer in question appears to be the payee.

(3)            In this section and section 76 of this Act references to a payee do not include references to an endorsee under a special endorsement.

(4)            Nothing in this section and section 76 of this Act shall make negotiable an instrument which apart from these sections is not negotiable.

Credit: CommonLII