Post-dated checks get extension
The Finance Ministry will grant extra leeway of 75 days to the issuers of post-dated checks to cover the amounts concerned through an amendment likely to be tabled in Parliament this week. The previous arrangement for checks expired at end-2020.
Given that the coronavirus lockdown is continuing and hundreds of thousands of enterprises remain shuttered, the issuers of checks need more breathing space.
There will be some favorable regulations for the checks’ recipients too, who may also run into serious liquidity problems since they cannot cash them.
The new extension, to operate in combination with the fifth stage of the cheap state loans program, is seen as offering an additional grace period until economic conditions revert to normal.
Representatives of many sectors have again asked the state to intervene, while there was also a proposal on the table regarding the provision of loans on favorable terms for check issuers so that they can cover their obligations; however, this was rejected as banks would not consider the majority eligible for borrowing.
