Record of digital transactions to be Included as evidence
A bill has been tabled in Parliament to repeal the colonial-era law to include digital transaction documents as 'evidence books'. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal raised the 'Banker's Evidence Book Bill-2021' in Parliament on Monday.
The bill was later sent to be examined within a month and then the report will be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance. Earlier in the morning, the sitting started and presided over by the speaker of the Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury.
The bill has been brought to repeal the law of 1891 and make a new law. Bank ledger books, cash books are called Evidence books. The records that will be digitally enacted in the proposed law will also be considered in the law as 'Evidence Book'. This will include the banks' ledger books, cash books and loan disposal books.
The bill stipulates a maximum of three years in jail and a fine of Tk 10 lakh if a bank official or employee discloses customer information without a reason stated in the law. The proposed law states that offenses under this Act will be non-enforceable, bailable and compromising with the consent of the court.
Asked about the purpose and reasons for the bill, the finance minister said ICT-based banking is now essential in the current era of globalization with the rapid development of the banking and financial sector. Information on banking transactions through online banking and other electronic means is also being stored as a soft copy on electronic data devices. As a result, instead of the Bankers' Books Evidence Act-1891, it has become necessary to enact a new law in a timely manner.
