Book evidence and forex laws likely to be amended soon

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Nazmul Ahsan
The government is likely to amend the Bankers' Book Evidence Act, 1891 and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 soon to make them time-relevant, official sources said.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has undertaken the move last week as both the parliamentary standing committee on planning ministry and the World Bank have recently asked the government to amend the acts in question in the light of international practices, sources said.
The ministry has formed a five-member committee, headed by an executive director, Bangladesh Bank (BB), for the purpose. The other members of the committee are general manager, foreign exchange policy department, BB, general manager, banking regulation and policy department, BB, two deputy secretaries from the MoF and one deputy secretary from the law ministry.
The amendments would facilitate foreign trade by specifying some definitions, including export, import, capital account and current account, a BB official said.
All types of foreign exchange transactions will be brought under the amended law to ensure proper scrutiny, he added.
The office order of the MoF has asked the committee to submit their report with next two months. The order suggested the committee to consult the relevant acts of neighbouring countries so that amended versions could, at least, reach the regional standards.
The central bankers said definition of resident and non-resident foreign currency account holders need to be included in the amended act to guide the banks in opening accounts. They said the central bank should be given authority to impose financial penalty on banks or on their employees for violation of the provisions of the proposed acts.
Officials said the last caretaker government had taken initiatives to amend both the acts. A draft of the amended Foreign Exchange Regulation Act was also prepared during the period in consultation with different stakeholders and regulators.
"We may consult the draft act prepared in late 2008," a top BB official said.
There are a number of discrepancies in the Bankers' Book Evidence Act, for example, in areas of searching and freezing bank accounts of depositors and their subsequent punishments. Such flaws need to be corrected, a banker said.
Officials in the MoF said the BB would extend secretarial services to the committee to help finish the task within the stipulated time.
They said the committee, if needed, might co-opt any experienced individual to accomplish its task better.b