14 Apr 2022
Kuwait bounced cheque law and implications:
The Civil Code of Kuwait regulates matters related to cheques. In Kuwaiti law, once is cheque is issued, it cannot be stopped. A cheque in Kuwait is payable at sight irrespective of its date, and a cheque is payable before the due date. The time limit for a cheque written in Kuwait is one month, and after it, the cheque becomes stale. Kuwait has reduced the offence on bounced cheques from a felony to a misdemeanour and has also reduced its penalties.
The Kuwaiti law imposes a penalty of imprisonment for three years and/or a fine of KD 300 upon the cheque issuer who issued a cheque without having a sufficient amount in his/her account or where a person, after issuing a cheque, withdraws the amount from his account and left insufficient amount in his account to be paid, or drawer stops from payment or the issuer sign incorrectly or improperly, that makes the payment preventable. The claimant can file a complaint against a bounced cheque within four months of its issuance if the cheque is drawn in Kuwait, and in case the cheque is drawn in a foreign country and payable in Kuwait, then the time limit for claiming the action is six months.