SANGSAD BHABAN, Oct 29, 2023 (BSS) - Finance Company Bill, 2023, was placed
in the Jatiya Sangsad here keeping a provision of imposing a fine of Taka one
crore as the maximum administrative punishment for violation of the law.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Minister Anisul Huq on behalf of Finance
Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the bill in the House with Speaker Dr
Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.

"The new proposed law has brought changes to the Finance Institutions Act,
1993 as it (the existing law) is not that much effective," said the minister
while piloting the bill.

As per the proposed law, the existing financial institutions would become
companies but they would require neither fresh registration nor change in
their existing memorandum of associations.

He said a provision of huge fines was added as administrative pecuniary
punishments in some clauses of the draft law. The maximum punishment is Taka
1 crore fine, he said, adding that the criminal offence will be tried
separately under penal codes.

According to the bill, no one can run a finance company without taking a
license from the Bangladesh Bank.

The bill precisely defined loan defaulters as well as fixed the ceilings for
the amount of deposited money and interest rates.

During approval of the draft law, the Cabinet made an observation for the
authorities concerned to review whether the bankruptcy issue of a company can
be solved outside the court and if the issue can be incorporated in the
proposed law, said the Cabinet Secretary.

He said now the court declares a company bankrupt. It takes time to remove
the bankruptcy-related complexities, completing all the legal procedures
following the High Court's judgment over a bankruptcy issue.

The minister urged the House to send the bill to the concerned parliamentary
standing committee for providing report within three days.