Bills of Exchange Act in Zimbabwe

Bills of Exchange Act may be cited as the Bills of Exchange Act (Chapter 14:02) and is an act to codify and amend the law relating to bills of exchange, cheques and promissory notes.^[1]

Form and Interpretation

• A bill of exchange is an unconditional order in writing, addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand, or at a fixed or determinable future time, a sum certain in money to, or to the order of, a specified person, or to bearer.
• An instrument which does not comply with these conditions, or which orders any act to be done in addition to the payment of money, is not a bill of exchange.
• An order to pay out of a particular fund is not unconditional within the meaning of this section, but an unqualified order to pay, coupled with—

1. an indication of a particular fund out of which the drawee is to reimburse himself or a particular account which is to be debited with the amount; or
2. a statement of the transaction which gives rise to the bill; or
3. a statement on the bill that it is drawn against specified documents attached thereto for delivery or acceptance or on payment of the bill, as the case may be; or
4. a statement on the bill that it is drawn under or against a specified letter of credit or other similar authority; is unconditional.

• A bill is not invalid by reason—

1. that it is not dated; or
2. that it does not specify the value given or that any value has been given therefor; or
3. that it does not specify the place where it is drawn or the place where it is payable.

References