Articles 31 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
A promissory note signed for a loan, a bill accepted by a buyer, or a bill that came back dishonoured: Articles 31 to 41 of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963 deal with suits on all of them. Every Article gives three years. The skill lies in finding the right starting point, because the Schedule uses eleven different ones.
This article follows the consolidated text of the Act consulted (latest amendment shown: Act 46 of 1999). Later amendments should be checked.
Articles 31 to 41 give three years for suits on bills of exchange and promissory notes. The period starts when the instrument falls due (Article 31), is presented (Articles 32 and 33), when a fixed time after sight or demand expires (Article 34), on the date of the instrument if it is payable on demand and carries no writing postponing the right to sue (Article 35), and on other dates for instalments, delivery, notice, refusal and payment (Articles 36 to 41). A suit filed late is liable to be dismissed under section 3.
Where these Articles sit
They are in the First Division (suits), Part II (suits relating to contracts). The Act's own definitions help here: section 2(c) says a "bill of exchange" includes a hundi and a cheque, and section 2(k) says a "promissory note" means any instrument whereby the maker engages absolutely to pay a specified sum of money to another at a time therein limited, or on demand, or at sight. For what makes an instrument a note or bill, see our posts on a promissory note and a bill of exchange under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. When a note has fallen due and gone unpaid, a recovery notice usually comes before a suit. Our article on how the Schedule is laid out explains the columns.
Copied as printed:
| Article | Description of suit | Period of limitation | Time from which period begins to run |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | On a bill of exchange or promissory note payable at a fixed time after date. | Three years. | When the bill or note falls due. |
| 32 | On a bill of exchange payable at sight, or after sight, but not at a fixed time. | Three years. | When the bill is presented. |
| 33 | On a bill of exchange accepted payable at a particular place. | Three years. | When the bill is presented at that place. |
| 34 | On a bill of exchange or promissory note payable at a fixed time after sight or after demand. | Three years. | When the fixed time expires. |
| 35 | On a bill of exchange or promissory note payable on demand and not accompanied by any writing restraining or postponing the right to sue. | Three years. | The date of the bill or note. |
| 36 | On a promissory note or bond payable by instalments. | Three years. | The expiration of the first term of payment as to the part then payable; and for the other parts, the expiration of the respective terms of payment. |
| 37 | On a promissory note or bond payable by instalments, which provides that, if default be made in payment of one or more instalments, the whole shall be due. | Three years. | When the default is made, unless where the payee or obligee waives the benefit of the provision and then when fresh default is made in respect of which there is no such waiver. |
| 38 | On a promissory note given by the maker to a third person to be delivered to the payee after a certain event should happen. | Three years. | The date of the delivery to the payee. |
| 39 | On a dishonoured foreign bill where protest has been made and notice given. | Three years. | When the notice is given. |
| 40 | By the payee against the drawer of a bill of exchange, which has been dishonoured by non-acceptance. | Three years. | The date of the refusal to accept. |
| 41 | By the acceptor of an accommodation-bill against the drawer. | Three years. | When the acceptor pays the amount of the bill. |
Article by Article with dates
Section 12(1) excludes the day from which the period is reckoned, so three years from a date end on the same date three years later.
Article 31: payable at a fixed time after date. A note dated 10 March 2023 is payable one year after date. It falls due on 10 March 2024, and the three years end on 10 March 2027. How the due date of an instrument is worked out is a Negotiable Instruments Act question; see our post on at sight, after sight and maturity.
Article 32: at sight or after sight, not at a fixed time. The period starts "when the bill is presented". A bill presented on 6 September 2023 gives an end date of 6 September 2026.
Article 33: accepted payable at a particular place. The starting point is "when the bill is presented at that place". If it is presented there on 14 November 2023, the end date is 14 November 2026. Presentment elsewhere is not the date this Article names.
Article 34: fixed time after sight or after demand. The period starts "when the fixed time expires". Suppose a note is payable 60 days after demand and demand is made on 1 January 2024. Sixty days later is 1 March 2024, so the three years end on 1 March 2027.
Article 35: payable on demand, with no writing restraining or postponing the right to sue. Time runs from "the date of the bill or note", not from the date you demand payment. A demand note dated 5 May 2023 therefore gives an end date of 5 May 2026. If the instrument is accompanied by a writing that restrains or postpones the right to sue, this Article does not apply in its stated form, and the text does not say which Article does; check the papers.
Article 36: instalments. A note repayable in three yearly instalments on 31 March 2024, 31 March 2025 and 31 March 2026 has three separate starting points: the period for each part starts at the end of its own term. The first instalment's three years end on 31 March 2027, the second's on 31 March 2028, and the third's on 31 March 2029.
Article 37: instalments with an acceleration clause. If the note says that on default in one or more instalments the whole shall be due, the period starts "when the default is made". A default on 30 June 2024 gives an end date of 30 June 2027. If the payee waives the benefit of the provision, the period starts again "when fresh default is made in respect of which there is no such waiver".
Article 38: note given to a third person, to be delivered later. The maker hands the note to a third person to deliver to the payee once an event occurs. The period starts on "the date of the delivery to the payee". A delivery on 12 August 2024 gives an end date of 12 August 2027.
Article 39: dishonoured foreign bill. Where protest has been made and notice given, time runs from "when the notice is given". Notice given on 25 January 2024 gives an end date of 25 January 2027. On protest and notice, see noting and protest and protest of foreign bills.
Article 40: payee against drawer after dishonour by non-acceptance. The period starts on "the date of the refusal to accept". A refusal on 8 December 2023 gives an end date of 8 December 2026. See dishonour by non-acceptance and by non-payment.
Article 41: acceptor of an accommodation bill against the drawer. The acceptor sues the drawer after paying. The period starts "when the acceptor pays the amount of the bill". A payment on 17 February 2024 gives an end date of 17 February 2027.
What can change the count
- Sections 18 and 19: a signed written acknowledgment before the period expires, or a payment on account of the debt made and acknowledged as section 19 requires, gives a fresh period. See section 18 and section 19.
- Section 4: a suit may be filed on the day the court re-opens if the last day fell when it was closed.
- Section 5 does not help a suit. It applies to appeals and applications only.
A caution on cheques
A cheque is a bill of exchange under section 2(c) of this Act. But a criminal complaint for dishonour of a cheque is governed by its own time limits under the Negotiable Instruments Act, not by this Schedule. Under section 29(2), where a special or local law prescribes a different period, that period applies. Read our posts on time limits for a cheque-dishonour complaint and cheque bounce under that Act. This article states none of those periods.
Need help with an unpaid note or bill?
An instrument can sit in a file for years while its due date, presentment date and acknowledgments pile up. If you hold a note, a bill or a dishonoured cheque, we can read it with you, work out the date that counts, and prepare a recovery notice before time runs short.
Key takeaways
- Articles 31 to 41 each give three years, but start on eleven different events.
- A demand note or bill with no postponing writing runs from its date (Article 35), not from the demand.
- Instalment notes have a separate starting point for each instalment (Article 36).
- An acceleration clause starts time on default, unless waived (Article 37).
- Sections 18 and 19 can give a fresh period; section 5 does not apply to suits.
- A cheque-dishonour complaint and other special-law proceedings have their own periods; later amendments should be checked.
Read next
- Articles 26–30: accounts stated, specified-time promises and bonds
- Articles 42–46: surety, insurance policies, premia and refund of a legacy
- Articles 14–18: price of goods sold and work done
- Sections 37–39 of the Negotiable Instruments Act: principal debtors and sureties
Disclaimer: Based on a consolidated text of the Limitation Act, 1963 and its Schedule whose latest amendment shown is Act 46 of 1999, as consulted on 2 October 2026. A special or local law may fix a different period; later amendments and the current procedural law should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.