Convention for Non-Standardized Bills of Exchange (LDC)

Conakry, April 30, 2020

Convention for Non-Standardized Bills of Exchange (LDC)

Between

1) The Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea as system administrator, hereinafter referred to as "the BCRG", located at Conakry, 6th Boulevard du Commerce, P.O. Box: 692 – Conakry, represented for the purposes of this agreement by Mr. Louncény NABE, Governor,

On the one hand

And

2) The participants in the national telecompensation system, the list of which is attached in Annex 3,

On the other hand

The following has been agreed:

Article 1: This convention aims to define and establish the principles governing the electronic exchange of data and images of bills of exchange, as well as the obligations of institutions adhering to the national Telecompensation system managed by the BCRG regarding the presentation and payment of bills of exchange and the retention of physical media for these instruments.

Article 2: Electronic compensation of bills of exchange consists of the exchange of data and scanned images related thereto. The exchange of data and scanned images related to the bill of exchange shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures defined in the technical specifications of the national Telecompensation system notified by the Central Bank to the participants. An instruction from the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea will establish the procedures for the standardization of commercial instruments.

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Article 3: This convention establishes the following obligations between institutions:

For the presenting institution:

carry out an apparent physical verification of the bills of exchange deposited by clients. The presenting institution must refuse to present for payment any bill of exchange that:

i. is not signed by the drawer, ii. does not bear the date of creation, iii. has an undetermined amount, iv. is not endorsed, v. does not bear the name of the drawee, vi. has incorrect drawee bank account details (RIB), vii. shows clear signs of alteration or forgery; viii. does not bear the maturity date; ix. and, where applicable, the extension date.

Furthermore, the presenting institution must:

• ensure that the information on the bill of exchange matches that in the computer record,
• ensure compatibility between the information on the standardized bill of exchange and that on the payment order,
• retain the paid bill of exchange forms for the legal retention period,
• scan all bills of exchange regardless of their amount. In this case, the imprint provided by the scanner on the back of the bill of exchange must include the presenting institution's code and, where applicable, the agency code in accordance with the Central Bank's coding system.

Archiving of already paid bills of exchange is carried out after stamping each form with the notation "paid by the holder" and the date of settlement.

In case of technical impossibility, a wet stamp bearing the same information must be affixed to the back of the bill of exchange.

For the drawee's institution: It is obliged to:

• verify that the amount shown on the bill of exchange image matches that in the computer record,
• verify the conformity of the signatures on the payment order,
• respect the rejection deadlines.

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Article 4: Any bill of exchange rejected where the computer record was not returned within the regulatory deadlines as set by the telecompensation guide shall be considered paid.

Article 5: The presenting institution is obliged to reimburse the drawee's institution the amount of any bill of exchange paid to the beneficiary and which has been subject to:

• double payment,
• a dispute by the drawee justified by one or more of the following grounds:
  • bill of exchange showing clear signs of alteration or forgery,
  • discrepancy between the computer record and the scanned image of the bill of exchange, particularly where the computer record amount exceeds the amount on the original bill of exchange.

Reimbursement must be made within five banking business days from receipt of the written claim submitted by the drawee's institution.

Article 6: In the event of rejection, the presenting institution is obliged to:

• state on the back of the bill of exchange the reason and date of rejection,
• issue a notice attesting to the presentation for payment and the rejection of the bill of exchange. This notice, prepared in accordance with the model in Annex 1, must be communicated to the holder (endorser) along with the rejected bill of exchange.

Article 7: In the event of a technical failure making it impossible to electronically transmit a bill of exchange rejection, the drawee's institution must use the BCRG's backup station to process the rejection file.

If processing via this backup means is impossible, the drawee's institution must notify the presenting institution by fax, telex, or any other means constituting proof, to suspend payment of the relevant bill of exchange.

This notification must be made within the electronic rejection deadline, at the latest on the first banking business day following the date of receipt of the computer record related to the bill of exchange (Day or Day + 1) before the counters open.

The drawee's institution must provide the identifier of the bill of exchange in question to allow the presenting institution to send a photocopy for rejection at the manual clearing chamber (Day + 1) or according to the procedure to be established by the BCRG in case of the closure of said chamber.

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Article 8: If the drawee demands, upon payment of the bill of exchange, that it be handed over to him, the drawee's institution is obliged to issue to him:

• either the image of the already paid bill of exchange bearing the drawee's institution stamp and the notation "paid by the holder",
• or a payment notice prepared in accordance with the model in Annex 2.

Article 9: The presenting institution is obliged to hand over the original bills of exchange to the drawee's institution only upon the drawee's claim for the purposes of legal action or the exercise of a bill of exchange recourse, in accordance with the following procedure:

• the handover of the original bills of exchange is carried out based on a letter issued by the drawee's institution sent via official mail. The letter, duly signed by an authorized person, must notably include the following details:
  • the bill of exchange number,
  • the amount,
  • the maturity date,
  • the Telecompensation date, and,
  • the drawee's bank account details (RIB).
• the delivery of the original bills of exchange to the drawee's institution is made against a receipt affixed to each copy of the bill of exchange, within a period not exceeding ten banking business days following the date of receipt of the aforementioned letter.

Article 10: All disputes arising from this convention, particularly regarding its interpretation and execution, shall be resolved amicably.

Failing consensus, the parties agree to resort to arbitration proceedings in accordance with the arbitration rules of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) of OHADA.

This arbitration panel must consist of an odd number of arbitrators.

The arbitral chamber ensures its own competence and the independence of the arbitrators.

If for any reason an arbitrator is unable to perform their duties, a replacement will be appointed in the same manner as the original arbitrator in accordance with these rules.

Appointed arbitrators and replacements must be recognized legal or technical experts at the national and/or international level, with a minimum of 10 years of experience regarding the subject matter of the dispute.

French shall be used as the language of arbitration, and the arbitral award shall be final, binding, enforceable, and without appeal.

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Nevertheless, this decision shall acquire the authority of res judicata only after an exequatur is granted by the competent Judge of the Guinean Tribunal.

Article 11: This Convention enters into force between the participants who have signed it.

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ANNEXE 1

BILL OF EXCHANGE REJECTION NOTICE

Recipient: ....................................................................................

Account Holder (RIB):

Code institution			Code agency													Internal reference