Bills of Exchange Act, 1964 (Act No. 34 of 1964)

Chapter II

Unindorsed or irregularly indorsed instruments

83. Effect of payment to or crediting of accounts by bankers of amounts of unindorsed or irregularly indorsed cheques and certain other documents

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(1)If a bank in good faith and in the ordinary course of business credits the account of its customer with or pays to another bank the amount of—
(a)any cheque drawn on it;
(b)any other document issued by its customer and intended to enable any person to obtain payment on demand of the sum mentioned in such document from it (or from any bank, if the document was issued on behalf of the State); or
(c)draft payable on demand drawn by such first-mentioned bank upon itself, or upon its agent who is a bank, whether payable at the head office or some other office of its bank or of such agent,

it shall not incur any liability by reason only of the absence of, or irregularity in, indorsement thereof, and such cheque, document or draft shall be discharged by such crediting of the account in question or by such payment.

[Sub-section (1) substituted by section 40 (a) of Act 56 of 2000.]

 

(2)The provisions of subsection (1) shall mutatis mutandis also apply to any document which—
(a)was issued on behalf of the State;
(b)is drawn upon or addressed to a servant of the State (hereafter in this section called the drawee); and
(c)is intended to enable any person to obtain payment on demand of the sum mentioned in such document from the drawee or from or through a bank,

as if the said document were a cheque and as if the drawee were a bank and the State its customer.

[Sub-section (2) substituted by section 40 (b) of Act 56 of 2000.]