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The Bangladesh Bank has issued fresh instructions to scheduled banks on the time limit for treating unclaimed profits from savings certificates as time-barred.
In a circular issued on Tuesday, the central bank’s Debt Management Department said banks must follow the Government Debt Act, 2022 when determining whether the principal or profit on savings certificates has become time-barred.
The directive was issued based on an explanatory clarification provided by the Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Ministry of Finance.
According to the circular, under Section 33 of the Government Debt Act, 2022, profits on savings certificates that pay returns monthly, quarterly or at maturity will be treated as time-barred if they remain unclaimed for six years after the certificate’s maturity date.
Similarly, the principal amount will also be considered a time-barred government liability if it is not claimed within six years of maturity.
The Bangladesh Bank said the instructions were issued following a request from the National Savings Directorate and based on the IRD’s clarification issued on June 8.
The new directive requires all scheduled banks to follow a uniform policy when handling claims related to the principal and profits of savings certificates.