The Judicial Yuan yesterday released draft regulations for handling card debtors -- including restrictions on travel and bans on taking certain jobs or buying luxury items -- in the face of the rising amount of defaults on credit and cash card loans.
"Because of the complexity of making an amendment to the Bank-ruptcy Law [破產法], the Judicial Yuan decided to draft a consumer debt clearance regulation to resolve the recent serious card-debt problems," Judicial Yuan Secretary- General Fan Kuang-chun (范光群) said at a press conference yesterday.
The draft would be brought to the legislature for approval in the middle of this month, he said.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
According to a statement released at the press conference, card debtors who owe less than NT$10 million (US$307,000) and who are able to immediately return 20 percent of the amount outstanding would be given four to six years to repay their debts. If the debtor fails to pay back the outstanding loans within that period, he or she would be categorized as bankrupt for a seven-year period.
According to the draft, any repayment proposal or bankruptcy order would have to be decided by a court, but card debtors could negotiate with lenders on debt repayment before the plan is reviewed by the court.
Card debtors would need to make a payment for their loans at least once every three months during the repayment period, it said.
Those who are declared bankrupt would be barred from taking 175 kinds of jobs, most of them related to finance, it said.
Bankrupt individuals would also be prohibited from traveling abroad, taking taxis, eating expensive dinners or buying luxury goods. If they are found to be purposely hiding properties or transferring assets to others, or living a luxurious lifestyle during the bankruptcy period, the court would be entitled to have them detained, according to the draft.
In addition, debtors' salaries would be sent directly to a bank to pay down their outstanding balance after deductions are made for basic living expenses, the statement said.
Under the draft rules, a court could also decide to lift or extend the bankruptcy designation before the end of the seven-year bankruptcy period.
Fan said there were around 510,000 card debtors in the country. The draft law would be applicable to around 100,000 people, he said.
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