The structure and the way of functioning of the Central Payment Incidents Database (CPID) was established by Regulation No. 1/2012 issued by the National Bank of Romania.

As a general rule, the Central Payment Incidents Database (CPID) is a structure with attributions of collecting, storing, and centralising information specific to payment incidents and operates, under Law no. 312/2005 of the Statute Law of the National Bank of Romania, at the National Bank of Romania’s headquarters in Bucharest, Lipscani Street no. 25, District 3, Bucharest.

A payment incident means the non-compliance of the account holders to fulfill their obligations on time and in a proper manner during the settlement process of the payment instrument (cheque, promissory note, bill of exchange), the non-fulfillment of which is brought to the attention of the Payment Incident Register by the reporting persons.

Reporting persons with reporting duties are:

a) credit institutions, Romanian legal entities;

b) branches in Romania of foreign credit institutions.

Payment incidents produced by account holders when paying cheques, bills of exchange, and promissory notes shall be reported to the Central Payment Incidents Database. Payment incidents can be major or minor, depending on the reason for refusing payment.

Major payment incidents lead to the registration of the account holder in the Risky Persons National File (RPNF).

Major payment incidents are regulated in Article 2, item 2 of NBR Regulation no. 1/2012 and are determined by the occurrence of one of the following situations:

– cheque refused for payment because it was issued without the drawer’s authorisation;

– cheque refused for payment due to total lack of funds, in case of presentation for payment before the deadline for presentation;

– cheque refused for payment due to partial lack of funds, if presented for payment before the expiry of the presentation deadline;

– cheque refused for payment because it was issued with a false date;

– cheque refused for payment because it was issued by a banned drawer;

– promissory note/bill of exchange with sight date refused for total lack of funds, in case of presentation for payment on time;

– promissory note/bill of exchange with sight date refused for payment due to partial lack of funds, if presented for payment on time;

– promissory note/ bill of exchange with maturing at a certain time from sight, at a certain time from the date of issue or at a fixed date refused for payment due to total lack of funds, if presented for payment on time;

– promissory note/bill of exchange with maturity at a certain time from sight, at a certain time from the date of issue, or at a fixed date refused for payment due to partial lack of funds, if presented for payment on time.

The direct consequence of the registration of account holders who have produced major payment incidents in the Risky Persons National File is represented by the bank sanction that manifests itself through the interdiction to issue cheques/bills of exchange/promissory notes for a period of one year from the date of registration of the payment incident at the Central Payment Incidents Database (art. 2 point 4 of the NBR Regulation no. 1/2012).

The erasing of the records on payment incidents in the database of the Central Payment Incidents Database can be made by the reporting persons, based on an enforceable court decision, ordering the deletion.

If the payment incident was generated as a result of a situation that has no fraudulent potential, there is no future risk of non-payment or was generated by an error, an action for annulment of the payment incident may be filed. In accordance with the provisions of Article 94 letter h) of the Procedure Civil Code, being a claim concerning a non-monetary obligation, the procedural subject-matter jurisdiction for the settlement belongs to the Court of First Instance.

Proof of payment of the judicial stamp duty in the amount of 20 lei must be attached to the application.

The decision pronounced by the Court of First Instance is subject only to appeal, which is to be settled by the Second Grade Instance.

Author: Atty. Ionut Sfetcu