Signature Mismatch (10-19) is a part of the list of cheque return reasons. In banking, cheques are mostly used for payment/ transactions so therefore we face some cheque return problems due to the sign of the drawer. These reasons are explainable to understand as below:
Contents of this post
What do you mean by Signature Mismatch?
Signature Mismatch is an issue that can be seen or found when your cheque got bounced with a specified signature mismatch reason. It means that your presented cheque can not be cleared if the sign-on cheque is not matching with the sign of the account holders. There are different types of signature mismatch codes or reasons mentioned by banks in the list of cheque return reasons. And that is (10-19) present below-
10 Drawer’s signature incomplete
For this reason, the Drawer of the cheque did not sign fully. It may be by mistake or deliberately. Because of the incomplete sign. the cheque will dishonor with the notation “DRAWER’s SIGN. INCOMPLETE”
11 Drawer’s signature illegible
In this case, the drawer’s signature is illegible to clear the cheque that’s why the cheque will bounce. If the Drawers signature is not legible then Drawer’s bank will not clear the cheque. For matching, the Drawer will have to provide his signature to the bank to get it legible. It is illegible due to mismatch, wrong signature, and no complete signature.
12 Drawer’s signature differs
For this reason, the Drawer’s signature is not matching with the signature of bank records. So due to sign. difference check will get bounce with this notation “Drawer’s signature differs”.
13 Drawer’s signature required
In this case, It is very simple to understand that the Drawer’s cheque has not been signed and without a signature, the cheque is not valid for clearance. So it is very important to check your drawer’s cheque before sending it to the bank for clearance. And Payee can check as name, amount, sign, spelling, and date which should be in a valid cheque.
14 Drawer’s signature not as per the mandate
In this case, Drawer has not allowed his signature, which means not any permission is allowed to the bank. So cheque will not be clear without the customer’s permission because the bank did not have permission from its customer to pay the cheque.
15 Drawer’s signature to operate account not received
In this case, the cheque deposited in the bank gets dishonored due to a signature mismatch with a notation “Drawer’s signature to operate account not received” which means the signature on the cheque is not matching and that signature is not provided to the Drawer’s bank to operate such account.
16 Drawer’s authority to operate account not received
In this case, it can understand that the Drawer did not allow the bank to operate the account and without the customer’s authority bank will not clear the cheque hence cheque gets bounced.
17 Alterations require drawer’s authentication (Under CTS the only alteration in date is permitted, in case of any alteration, the cheque will be returned)
Finally, the altered cheque is not able to allow under CTS except for alteration in date. So if your check has corrections with signature, name, amount, and spelling then the cheque will not be allowed for clearance. Signature (10-19) should be clear to understand the signature mismatch issue.
Further faqs on Signature Mismatch
What happens if signature mismatch in the cheque?
There is not a big issue if your cheque is get bounced with a signature mismatch. First of all, you should contact the drawer. And tell him about the signature mismatch and get a new cheque with a proper and valid sign and present that cheque again. You will see that your cheque will clear or if not cleared then it can be signed intensionally and if it is intentionally done then it can be punishable.
According to the Supreme Court rule that a mismatch of signatures will be treated the same as insufficiency of funds, “payment stopped” and “closure of account”, which are offenses under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, in case a cheque bounces.
In such cases, the account holder as required under the act must be given notice and an opportunity to arrange the money before the launch of criminal proceedings, the court said.
Section 138 makes a cheque-bounce offense punishable with two-year imprisonment and a fine that can be double the cheque amount.
How do you avoid signature mismatch?
You can avoid signature mismatch problems as a cheque drawer-
- Remember your sign always and do valid sign.
- Use a double sign-on cheque if you are aware it can be mismatched.
- visit the bank, if you forgot your sign and should request to check your sign.
- If you are uncomfortable with your present sign then you can request for change.
- Or you can pay online through NEFT, RTGS, OR IMPS for avoiding signature mismatch.
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An Accountant, GSTP, GST blogger, Website Creator, SEO Builder & Co-founder of the website https://gstportalindia.in for the help of GST Taxpayers of India. Having a perfect accounting experience of more than 10 years in a Private Ltd Company.
Your posts are always a great resource. This one was particularly helpful and well-written.