Instruction No. 193 on Non-Cash Settlements in the Republic of Tajikistan

"REGISTERED" "APPROVED" Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan, Resolution No. 695 dated May 23, 2012 Board of Directors of the National Bank of Tajikistan, Resolution No. 76 dated April 25, 2012 Amendment and Addition | Amendment and Addition

"REGISTERED" "APPROVED" Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan, Resolution No. 695 "a" dated May 21, 2014 Board of Directors of the National Bank of Tajikistan, Resolution No. 89 dated April 30, 2014 Amendment and Addition | Amendment and Addition

"REGISTERED" "APPROVED" Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan, Resolution No. 695 "b" dated July 7, 2015 Board of Directors of the National Bank of Tajikistan, Resolution No. 101 dated May 28, 2015 Amendment and Addition | Amendment and Addition

Instruction No. 193 "On Non-Cash Settlements in the Republic of Tajikistan" The Instruction "On Non-Cash Settlements in the Republic of Tajikistan" (hereinafter - the Instruction) is developed in accordance with Article 32 of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan "On the National Bank of Tajikistan", Article 45 of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan "On Islamic Banking Activities", and Article 39 of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan "On Banking Activities". Its purpose is to define forms of non-cash settlements and sample payment documents, and it establishes the procedure for conducting non-cash settlements in national and foreign currencies within the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Chapter 1. General Provisions

1. The following terms are used in this Instruction: – credit institutions – legal entities (traditional credit institutions and Islamic credit institutions) that, based on a license from the National Bank of Tajikistan, conduct all or specific banking operations and/or Islamic banking operations as provided by law;

• client – a legal or natural person to whom banking services are provided according to an agreement with the credit institution;
• payer – a client who instructs servicing credit institutions to transfer a specified amount from their account;
• payee – a client who has the right to receive the amount transferred by the payer;
• electronic payment instruments – means and/or methods enabling a client of a credit institution to create, authenticate, and transmit instructions for transferring funds within the applicable forms of non-cash settlements using information-communication technologies, electronic storage media, including bank payment cards and other technical devices;
• electronic payment document – information recorded on a machine-readable medium, serving as the electronic equivalent of a paper payment document, having a format established by the payment system rules, containing the necessary information for settlements as prescribed by legislation;
• remote banking services (e-banking) – services provided by credit institutions to conduct banking operations using software-technical and telecommunications means, allowing the client remote access to their bank account, receive information on conducted operations, and check fund balances.

2. Non-cash settlements are conducted by credit institutions (their branches and structural subdivisions) and the National Bank of Tajikistan through correspondent accounts of credit institutions and client accounts opened in credit institutions, according to agreements on interbank settlement services or bank account agreements.
3. Credit institutions hold client funds in their accounts, credit incoming amounts to these accounts, execute clients' instructions for transfer and withdrawal from accounts, and perform other banking operations specified in this Instruction and the bank account agreement.
4. Funds are debited from an account upon the owner's instruction within the available balance, except as otherwise provided by legislation and/or the bank account agreement.
5. Without a client's instruction, debiting funds from an account is permitted only by court decision, as well as in other cases established by laws and agreements between credit institutions and clients.
6. If sufficient funds exist on the account to satisfy all claims presented against the account owner, these funds are debited in the order of receipt of the account owner's instructions and other payment documents for debit (by calendar sequence), unless otherwise provided by law.
7. If funds on the account are insufficient, payment of debit documents is executed in the following order:

• first – documents for transfer or withdrawal of funds to satisfy claims for compensation for harm caused to life and health, as well as claims for alimony collection and protection of the secured party's interests;
• second – documents for calculating severance payments upon dismissal and paying wages to employees working under employment contracts or labor agreements, as well as documents for paying remuneration under copyright agreements;
• third – payment documents in favor of the state budget. Credit institutions and other financial-credit institutions are prohibited from issuing cash for wage payments without prior transfer by taxpayers or tax agents to the budget of income and social taxes related to the aforementioned cash funds;
• fourth – debit according to executive documents providing for satisfaction of other monetary claims;
• fifth – by other payment documents in calendar sequence.

8. Debiting funds from an account according to claims of the same queue is executed in calendar sequence upon receipt of documents.
9. The following forms of non-cash settlements are established:

• payment order;
• checks;
• letters of credit;
• bank payment cards;
• collection orders;
• collection instruction;
• direct account debit.
• memo order (only for credit institutions);

10. Credit institutions may use the memo order as one of the forms of non-cash settlements (Appendix No. 1).
11. Settlement forms between the payer and payee are determined by contract (agreement).
12. Credit institutions do not interfere in the contractual relations of clients. Mutual claims regarding settlements between the payer and payee are considered in the established order without the participation of credit institutions, except for cases arising from the fault of credit institutions.
13. For violations of settlement operation rules, credit institutions, other legal entities, and citizens bear responsibility in accordance with current legislation. Filing a complaint or lawsuit does not suspend operations on the account.
14. Settlements between the payer and payee from a third party's account are prohibited.
15. A credit institution is not liable for forged entries made by the client in settlement documents. 15.1. Fund transfers by credit institutions during non-cash settlements may be executed based on electronic payment documents using electronic payment instruments or paper-form settlement documents.

Chapter 2. Procedure for Processing Settlement Documents 16. Settlement documents must contain the following details:

• name of the settlement document;
• sequential number of the payment document, day, month, and year of issuance. The day is indicated in numerals, the month in words, and the year in numerals. For settlement documents filled out on computing devices of the electronic payment system, month designation in numerals is permitted;
• payment amount, indicated in numerals and words;
• taxpayer identification number, payer's name, and their account number in the credit institution;
• name of the payer's credit institution, banking identification code, and its correspondent account number;
• name of the payee's credit institution, banking identification code of the payee's credit institution, and its correspondent account number;
• taxpayer identification number, payee's name, and their account number in the credit institution;
• payment purpose with indication of the document number and date, on the basis of which the transaction is made, other data necessary for clarifying conducted operations.

17. Abbreviation of the payer's, payee's names and payment purpose on settlement documents is permitted, provided it does not hinder the work of credit institutions and clients.
18. Settlement documents for operations conducted by entrepreneurs without forming a legal entity are accepted for execution if they bear one signature specified in the specimen signature and seal card, without a seal impression.
19. The first copies of settlement documents sent for execution to the credit institution must be certified by the signature of authorized persons of the legal entity and the impression of its assigned seal (specimens previously submitted to the credit institution). The date of submission and the signature of the chief accountant (or, in the absence of a chief accountant, the head's signature) of the legal entity must also be indicated (for natural persons conducting entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity, the signature of the natural person themselves). The first copies of settlement documents remain in the credit institution. 19.1. Operations performed based on electronic payment documents are confirmed by sending an electronic notification to the payer regarding the debit of funds from their account.
20. Settlement documents for operations conducted by legal entities are signed by authorized persons.
21. Settlement documents are accepted for execution regardless of the specified amount. Document acceptance from clients is conducted by the credit institution during the day, depending on the credit institution's working hours with clients.
22. The credit institution is obligated to credit funds to the client's account or debit funds from the client's account on the date of acceptance of the corresponding settlement document, except as otherwise provided by the agreement between the credit institution and the client. If documents from a client arrive after the end of the credit institution's operating day, they are processed on the next operating day.
23. Settlement documents are issued using technical means in the number of copies necessary for the credit institution and participating settlement parties, as well by reproducing the first copy. Checks are handwritten with a pen (not graphite pencil). Smudges and erasures in settlement documents are invalid.
24. Funds are debited from the payer's account only based on the first copy of a settlement document in paper form or electronic payment documents received via communication channels from clients - users of remote banking services.
25. If the client submits electronic payment documents to the credit institution (or vice versa), information protection against falsification and confidentiality must be ensured through encoding (encryption) and the application of a digital electronic signature.

Chapter 3. Settlements by Payment Orders 26. A payment order is a client's instruction to the servicing credit institution to transfer a specified amount from their account to the payee's account. 27. The payer submits a payment order on a standard form (Appendix No. 2) to the credit institution. 28. The responsible person of the credit institution, upon receiving a payment order from the client, verifies its correct formatting in the established manner. If no errors are found, all copies of the payment order are certified by the responsible person's signature and the credit institution's stamp indicating the date of acceptance. The first copy serves as the basis for operations and is stored in the credit institution's daily documents. The second copy, as confirmation of acceptance of the payment order, is attached to the client's statement. 29. A payment order is valid for five calendar days from the date of its issuance. 30. The execution date of a payment order must correspond to the date of its submission to the credit institution according to paragraph 22. If the execution date does not match the established requirements, the payment order is considered timely unexecuted. Responsibility for untimely execution lies with the responsible person and the head of the credit institution. If it does not meet the requirements established in paragraph 29, the payment order is not accepted for execution by the responsible executor. 31. A payment order is accepted from the payer for execution only if sufficient funds exist in their account. 31.1. Payment orders provided to the credit institution as electronic payment documents are executed based on an agreement between the credit institution and the client using electronic payment instruments. When providing settlement documents in electronic form, submission of their paper copy is not required. 32. By agreement between the payer and payee, payments with payment orders may be time-bound, early, or deferred, including those pre-accepted by the payer's credit institution. 33. A time-bound payment is executed in the following cases: a) advance payment, i.e., before goods shipment; b) after goods shipment, i.e., by direct acceptance of goods; c) partial payments for large transactions; d) accepted payment - applied in specific cases, with prior reservation of the payment amount in the payer's credit institution and acceptance by the client. 34. Early and deferred payments may occur within contractual relations between the payer and payee. 35. In case of advance payments, repayment of debt arising from the supplier's failure to deliver goods or the contractor's failure to perform works and services is executed by a payment order from the supplier (contractor) with reference in them to mutual debt reconciliation acts, its number and date. 36. A payment order accepted by a credit institution is applied: a) when returning budget revenues through postal institutions; b) for settlements for goods and services, by transfer through postal institutions; c) for settlements of legal entities with postal institutions for transfers, including parcel delivery and payment of cash-on-delivery payments; d) for settlements with transport organizations for freight transportation and passenger transport. 37. Payment orders are accepted by the credit institution upon depositing the order amount in Balance Sheet Account No. 24202 "Money Transfers - National Currency". 38. A payer wishing to make settlements with prior bank acceptance submits a payment order in triplicate to their servicing credit institution, the first two of which must be formatted with two signatures and a seal impression according to specimens held by the credit institution. 39. After verifying correct formatting and executability, the amount is debited from the payer's account and deposited in Balance Sheet Account No. 24202 "Money Transfers - National Currency". The first copy of the payment order is sealed by the credit institution and issued to the payer's authorized representative. Their receipt and the second copy of the payment order remain in the credit institution's daily documents. 40. If an accepted payment order is not presented for payment within one month from the date of acceptance, its amount is debited from Balance Sheet Account No. 24202 "Money Transfers - National Currency" and transferred to the payer's account. 41. Operations with payment orders accepted by a credit institution are subject to additional preliminary control (with signature in the order) by the chief accountant of the credit institution or their deputy. 42. Credit institutions are not liable for forged signatures of the client on an accepted payment order. 43. Accepted payment orders received from transferors, postal institutions, transport organizations, and others are submitted to servicing credit institutions with a properly formatted registry of established form. When accepting accepted payment orders, the credit institution must ensure that the reverse side bears the stamp of the enterprise-payer with the date of their acceptance for payment. 44. Legal entities may conduct settlements by transferring funds through postal institutions without amount limits: a) to persons entitled to their personal funds (pensions, alimony, wages, travel expenses, author's honorarium, etc.); b) to legal entities for wage expenses and similar payments; c) for organized labor recruitment, for agricultural product procurement in areas without credit institutions; d) cash amounts of trade revenue, taxes, and other funds for crediting to accounts in credit institutions. 45. In transfer forms addressed to legal entities, the transferor must indicate the payee's name, taxpayer identification number, account number, as well as the name, banking identification code, and correspondent account of the credit institution where this account is held. 46. Postal fees for transfers are included in the total amount of the accepted payment order. Credit institutions accept orders for acceptance issued to the nearest postal institutions that have an account for transfer operations in the credit institution. The credit institution transmits to the corresponding postal institution specimens of signatures of officials and seal impressions of the credit institution, which format the acceptance of the payment order. 47. For settlements with postal institutions for money transfers conducted through them, a legal entity submits to the credit institution a payment order on a standard form. In the "Payee" field of the payment order form, the following text is placed: "For settlements with __________________________ (name of postal institution) upon issuance (of the accepted payment order by ________________________ (Full Name of Representative) whose specimen signature is certified as ________________________" 48. Other details of the payment order form are formatted in the generally established manner. 49. Postal institutions pay incoming transfers addressed to legal entities in non-cash form using payment orders, prepared in triplicate for each payee. 50. On the reverse side of all copies of payment orders, postal institutions must indicate the payer's account number who submitted the cash and the revenue amounts for each of them. 51. Postal institutions submit payment orders to the credit institution in triplicate, of which the first copy serves as the basis for debit and remains in the credit institution's daily documents, the second copy is returned to the postal institution as an attachment to the statement of account. The third copy is sent directly by the postal institutions to the transfer recipients. 52. Postal institutions pay incoming transfers addressed to legal entities using payment orders, prepared in triplicate for the total amount of all transfers per each payee. On the reverse side of all copies of payment orders related to the corresponding crediting to trading organizations' accounts, postal institutions must indicate the names of the trading organizations who submitted the cash and the corresponding amount for each of them. 53. Credit institutions conducting settlements through SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) networks must conduct their activities in accordance with the rules of using this network. A sample SWIFT financial message is provided in Appendix No. 3.

Chapter 4. Settlements by Checks 54. A check is a security containing an unconditional order from the drawer to the credit institution to pay the specified amount of money to the check holder. 55. Only the credit institution where the drawer has funds and may dispose of them by presenting checks is indicated as the payer of the check. 56. A check cannot be recalled before the expiration of its presentation period for payment. 57. Issuing a check does not cancel the monetary obligation issued for its execution. 58. By means of a check, the account owner (drawer) gives a written instruction to their credit institution to pay the specified amount from their account to the check presenter. This action may be fulfilled by paying the presenter the amount specified in the check or by transferring this amount to their account. 59. Check forms are strictly accountable forms. 60. In check settlements, the account owner (drawer) gives a written instruction to the payer (credit institution issuing settlement checks) to make a payment of a specified amount of money, indicated in the check, to the payee's account (check holder). 61. Checks are used by both natural and legal persons. They serve as a payment instrument and may be applied in all cases provided by the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan. Settlements between natural persons are not permitted. 62. Checks issued by credit institutions of the Republic of Tajikistan circulate only within the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan. 63. Checks may be accepted into citizens' deposits, credited to their current accounts in credit institutions under agreements determined by the issuing (or correspondent) credit institution. 64. A check is issued in the form provided in Appendix No. 4 and must contain the following details: a) name of the check, included in the document text; b) instruction to the payer to pay a specified amount of money; c) name of the payer and indication of the account from which payment should be made; d) indication of the payment currency; e) indication of the date and place of check issuance; f) signature of the person who issued the check (drawer) 65. Absence of any of the specified details in the document invalidates it as a check. 66. The procedure for applying checks in circulation is regulated by the Civil Code of the Republic of Tajikistan and the established procedure of the credit institution issuing them into circulation and this Instruction. Checks issued by credit institutions are not applied in interbank settlements through the National Bank of Tajikistan. 67. To obtain checks, a legal entity submits to the credit institution an application in one copy (in two copies – for obtaining checks whose payment is guaranteed by the credit institution) signed by persons authorized to sign documents for operations on the legal entity's account and bearing its seal according to the form provided in Appendix No. 5. 68. Coverage of a check by the drawer's credit institution may be:

• funds deposited by the drawer in a separate account;
• funds in the corresponding account of the drawer, but not exceeding the amount guaranteed by the credit institution upon agreement with the drawer when issuing checks. In this case, the credit institution may guarantee to the drawer...