Bounced cheque amnesty: decision to be taken at ARP plenary session
ARP committee member Hichem Hosni revealed that the original draft law on bounced check amnesty would have only covered offenders who issued checks under 5,000 dinars (≈$1,600).
Speaking on Express FM Tuesday, Hosni confirmed an amendment proposal now seeks to include all offenders regardless of amount, noting: 'The vote was split (4-4), so the plenary will decide.'
It should be noted that in a joint session held on Monday at the Bardo Palace, the parliamentary committees for general legislation, internal regulations, parliamentary laws, electoral laws and the electoral function approved draft law no. 2025-08 concerning an amnesty for bounced cheques.
Initially, the text provided for an amnesty limited to bounced cheques for an amount less than or equal to five thousand dinars, in accordance with Law No. 2024-41 of 2 August 2024.
However, an amendment to Article 1 was proposed to extend the amnesty to all issuers of bounced cheques, with no limit on the amount.
Supporters of this amendment argued that such a measure would help to reintegrate offenders into the economic circuit, facilitate the regularization of debts while protecting the rights of creditors through civil remedies, and reduce the backlog in the courts.
On the other hand, some deputies considered the provisions of law 2024-41 to be sufficient, while others expressed reservations about the possible violation of the principle of equality between creditors and the risks for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Following the debates, Articles 2 and 3 were maintained in their original form. The first article of the draft law was amended and the new version was finally adopted.
More than 500 people behind bars
Bounced cheques are a real problem in Tunisia. According to official figures published at the end of 2002, the situation is alarming: more than 500 people are believed to have been arrested for issuing bounced checks, and several thousand are believed to be wanted.
The Central Bank of Tunisia recorded more than 400,000 bounced checks totaling 3.5 billion dinars in 2023 alone.
The draft law amending the provisions of Article 411 of the Commercial Code on penalties for issuing bounced cheques has been officially adopted.
The bill aims to reduce the penalties (criminal and financial) for issuing bounced cheques and provides for the possibility of replacing the prison sentence with an alternative penalty.
It also criminalizes the acceptance of a guarantee cheque, establishes the principle of cumulation of sentences handed down in the same trial, revises the prison sentences handed down by different courts and extends the scope of the conciliation procedure to the enforcement phase.
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