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Bangladsh Debt Settlement Act, 1989

An Act made to protect farmers from falling into indebtedness to moneylenders

Whereas it is expedient to make provision for protecting farmers from falling into indebtedness to moneylenders;

Therefore it is enacted as follows:-

1. Short title, application and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called The Bangladesh Debt Settlement Act, 1989 (Rin Salisi Ain, 1989).
(2) It shall extend to the whole of Bangladesh except the hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st Baishakh, 1389, or on the 14th April, 1982, accordingly.

2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or matter, -

(a) "Farmer" means a person who cultivates his own land personally or with the help of family members or workers, or who cultivates land leased from others, or who works as an agricultural worker for wages on the land of others;
(b) "Farming Land" includes the farmer's dwelling-house;
(c) "Complete Usufractory Mortgage" means complete usufractory mortgage as defined in section 2 (6) of The State Acquisition And Tenancy Act, 1950 (E.B Act XXVIII of 1951);
(d) "Chairman" means the chairman of the Board;
(e) "Rule" means a rule made under this Act;
(f) "Board" means the Board created under this Act,
(g) "Indebtedness to moneylenders" means any outstanding debt in money, grain or seeds being a written or oral settlement with or without a security, which -

(i) in the case of money, is due with an additional yearly percentage of twenty Taka or more;
(ii) in the case of grain and seeds, is due with an annual additional fifth part of the original debt.

4. Prohibition to take hold of spare stamp paper containing signatures or fingerprints.- No person may take hold of spare stamp paper containing any signature or fingerprint of any farmer as a security for a debt to a moneylender.

5. Prohibition to purchase crops in advance as a condition of a debt to a moneylender, etc.- No person may in any way purchase in advance the crop produced on the land of an indebted person bound to the conditions of a debt to a moneylender, nor may he carry it away to his home or to any other place determined by him.

6. Declaration of the sale of ground to be a complete usufractory mortgage.- (1) If after the commencement of this Act any farmer possessing ground sells not more than three acres of ground because of harm caused by bad wheather or helplessness caused by misery in his living conditions, and -

(a) if the selling price of the ground is not more than 30.000 Taka, or if the price is lower than the market price for a ground of this class at the time of sale, and-
(b) if the sold ground does not surpass one acre,

7. Annullation of some sales.- (1) If after the commencement of this Act any farmer possessing not more than two acres of agricultural ground sells not more than one acre of agricultural ground at a price not surpassing 30.000 Taka because of harm caused by bad wheather or helplessness caused by misery in his living conditions, and if the selling price of the ground is lower than the market price for grounds of this class at the time of sale, the said farmer may put forward a petition to the Board within six months after the establishment of the Board or after the registration of the sale, whatever comes last, to declare the said sale annulled, in a procedure determined by rule, and the Board may declare the said sale annulled if after hearing the petition in aa procedure determined by rule it is satisfied with the accuracy of the petition:-
Provided that no petition concerning the said ground under this sub-section may be put forward, if the said ground has been handed over before the 1st January, 1989, or if its nature has permanently been changed before this date due to the establishment of any industrial factory, commercial institution or building, or any other reasons.
(2) If any sale is annulled under sub-section (1), the Board shall within a time determined by it, but not surpassing three months, order the buyer of the ground to give it back to the seller.
(3) If the buyer does not, or fails to, give back the ground within the time determined under sub-section (2), the return shall be effected according to the provision under section 8.
(4) If the Board deems any sale annulled under sub-section (1), the selling price shall be deemed a debt without interest.
(5) The Board shall detract the amount of income the buyer has obtained from the said ground from the time between the date of registration of the sale and the date of return of the ground under sub-section (3) from the selling price and shall thus determine the amount of the debt due without interest, and shall order the seller to return it to the buyer in not more than ten instalments per year.
(6) If any instalment under sub-section (1) is not realized, the money of the non-realized instalment shall be deemed a public demand and shall thus become realizable:-
Provided that, if the buyer possesses not more than two acres of ground, and if he is helpless because of misery in his living conditions, the said section 8 shall not be applicable.

8. Effectuation of the order to return the ground.- If the buyer does not, or fails to, return the rights over the ground to the seller according to the order, the seller may in order to obtain the rights over the ground, put forward a petition to the sub-commissioner of the Upazila in which the ground is situated, and the said sub-commissioner (ground) shall, evicting the buyer by a notice, restore the seller's right over the ground.

9. Prohibition to transmit returned ground.- No farmer may transmit any agricultural ground returned to him under sections 6 and 7, for three years from the date of its return:-
Provided that the returned ground may be transmitted if there is an order to return the money due in more than three instalments per year, and if after the end of three years the outstanding money due is returned completely or according to the determined instalments.

10. Prohibition by rule concerning the occupation of agricultural ground etc.- No person may on any occasion except complete usufractory mortgage occupy any agricultural ground of any farmer as a security for a debt to a moneylender, nor hypothecate it for himself or anybody else.

11. Reduction of debts to moneylenders.- (1) Any debtor to a moneylender may in a procedure prescribed by rule make an application to the Board for determination of the amount of his debt and the legally due rate of interest thereon, as well as of the legal instalments for the realization of the return of the debt and its interest.
(2) After hearing the petition in a way prescribed by rule, the Board -

(a) shall determine the amount of the debt; and
(b) shall determine the interest rate which in the case of a debt due in Taka shall not surpass twenty Taka per year, and in case of a debt due in grain or seeds, shall not surpass one fifth of the initial debt per year.

12. Return of unscripted stamp paper containing signatures or fingerprints.- (1) If any debtor to a moneylender has given his signature or fingerprint on unscripted stamp paper to the moneylender as a security for the debt, he may within six months after the establishment of the Board make an application to the Board in a procedure prescribed by rule, to get it back, and the Board shall order the lender to return the said stamp paper in a time determined by it, if after hearing the petition it is satisfied with the accuracy of the petition.
(2) If the moneylender does not, or fails to, return the said spare stamp paper within the time determined under sub-section (1), the said stamp paper shall be deemed annulled, and any document ever affected or registered by it shall be deemed invalid.

13. Creation of a Debt Settlement Board.- (1) The Government may by notification in the official Gazette create a Debt Settlement Boared in any Upazila for the purpose of this Act.
(2) Every Board shall consist of one chairman and at least two, but not more than four, other members.
(3) The chairman and the members of the Board shall be appointed by the Government for three years:-
Provided that the Government may at any time by notification in the official Gazette dismiss the chairman or all or any of the other members.
(4) The chairman presides over the sessions of the Board.
(5) If the post of the chairman is vacant , or if due to absence, sickness or any other reasons he is unable to discharge his functions, as the case may be, any member of the Board nominated by the Government or by a deputy commissioner put into charge by the Government for this purpose shall function as chairman, until the vacant post is either taken over by a newly appointed chairman, or until the chairman is again able to discharge his functions.

14. Powers of the Board.- The powers of the Board shall be the following, namely:-

(a) accepting petitions put forward under sections 6, 7, 11, and 12, and executing them after a hearing; and
(b) using the various powers conferred to it by this Act.

16. Transmission of petition copies to Dewani courts etc.- (1) If any petition is put forward to the Board under this Act, the Board shall immediately send a copy of the petition to the court of the assistant judge of the respective Upazila.
(2) If any court receives a copy of a petition under sub-section (1), the said court shall not take any further steps concerning any matter under consideration, as mentioned in the petition, in any pending suit.
(3) If any court has decided upon any pending suit as mentioned in the petition, in any case and at any time after the said petition has been put forward to the Board, any such resolution shall be deemed cancelled and the Board's resolution in the said suit shall have effect.
(4) No suit may be filed in any court concerning any matter under consideration as mentioned in a petition received under sub-section (1).

17. Transmission of copies of the Board's resolutions.- If the decision on any petition received under this Act has been finished, a copy of the Board'sresolution shall be sent to the court of the respective Upazila assistent judge and to the respective assistent commissioner (ground).

18. Presence of witnesses and presentation of documents.- (1) If for the purpose of any matter under consideration of the Board, the Board requires the presence of any witness or any person, or the search or presentationof any documents, the Board may exercise all the powers that may be exercised by any civil court, according to the provision of The Code Of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908), in order to produce the said presence, search or presentation.
(2) If any documents or papers necessary for the execution of any petition by the Board are under the control or care of any person, the Board may order the said person to appear before it.

19. Appeal.- (1)- An Appeal may be submitted to the Zila additional collector against the resolution of the Board, in a procedure prescribed by rule, and the decision on this appeal shall be final.
(2) The appeal must be submitted within thirty days after the resolution of the Board.
(3) The implementation of the resolution of the Board shall be suspended until the execution of the appeal.

20. Government control.- (1) All proceedings within the purview of this Act shall be under the control of the Government.
(2) Any officer employed by the Government for this purpose may inspect the properties, documents, registers and records of the Board, and the Government may from time to time summon whatever facts or accounts from the Board.

21. Chairman and members shall be deemed public servants.- The chairman and the members of the Board shall be deemed public servants in the sense in which this term has been used in section 21 of The Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860).

22. Judicial proceedings.- The proceedings of the Board shall be deemed judicial proceedings as defined in section 228 of The Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860).

23. Punishment.- (1) If any person -

(a) violates any provision of this Act;
(b) disobeys any order of the Board;
(c) knowingly delivers any written or oral false statement or supplies false facts to the Board or to any appeal authority;
(d) deliberately presents forged documents to the Board or to any appeal authority;
(e) speaks out or witnesses presenting himself by the name of somebody else,

24. Some Acts are not applicable.- Unless anything repugnant is said in this Act, the provision of The Evidence Act,1872 (Act No.1 of 1872), and The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act No.V of 1908) shall not be applicable concerning the proceedings of the Board.

25. Power to make rules.- (1) The Government may by notification in the official Gazette make rules for the purpose of this Act.
(2) Especially, and not affecting the validity of the power mentioned above, the Government may make any or all of the following provisions in the form of such rules, namely:-

(a) the form of the petition under this Act;
(b) the fees due with the petition and process fees;
(c) the form of the Board's resolutions;
(d) appointment and dismissal of the chairman and the members of the Board;
(e) remuneration and honours of the chairman and the members of the Board;
(f) the files, registers and records of the Board;
(g) Facts and reports to be sent to the Zila administrator and to the Government;
(h) the Board's procedure;
(i) other subjects expedient for the implementation of the provision of this Act.

27. Repeal and Savings.- (1) The Rin Salisi Adhyadesh, 1988 (Ord.No.36, 1988) is herewith repealed in Bangladesh.
(2) Notwithstanding this repeal, any action performed or measure taken under the repealed Ordinance shall be deemed performed or taken under this Act.