Duty of creditor to maintain and furnish accounts.

(1) A creditor shall, in order to comply with the provision of this Act,— (a) regularly reward and maintain an account for each debtor separately, of all transactions relating to any loan advanced to that debtor, in such manner as the Government may prescribe ; (b) furnish each debtor every six months with a legible statement of account signed by the creditor or his agent of any balance or amount that may be outstanding against such debtor on the last date of Assuj, or on the last date of the month of Chet in every year. This statement of account shall include all transactions relating to the loan entered into during the six months to which the statement relates, and shall be sent, in such manner and in such form and containing such details as the Government may prescribe, within one month after the last date of the said six months. Explanation.—(i) The Government shall prescribe the forms and numerals in which the accounts required by this provision of this sub-section are to be maintained and furnished. (ii) The prescribed accounts shall be so kept that items due by way of interest shall be shown as separate and distinct from the principal sum, and separate totals of principal and interest shall be maintained. The creditor shall not include the interest or any portion of it in the principal sum ; and the principal and interest shall be separately shown in the opening balance of each new six monthly account : Provided that— (a) if the loan has, since it was originally advanced, passed by inheritance or assignment to a widow or minor, such widow or minor shall not be bound to maintain and furnish the account prescribed by this section for a period of six months from the date of such passing ; (b) nothing in this section shall be deemed to lay upon any person the duty of maintaining and furnishing the prescribed account in the case of a loan wherein the title to recover is sub-judice between two or more persons claiming as creditors adversely to each other unless and until the title has been finally decided by a Court of competent jurisdiction. (2) Entries in the account prescribed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be regularly kept in the course of business for the purposes of section 34, Indian Evidence Act, 1972 (1 of 1872), and copies of such entries certified in such manner as may be prescribed shall be admissible in evidence for any purposes in the same manner and to the same extent as the original entries. Explanation.—A person to whom a statement of account has been sent under clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall not be bound to acknowledge or deny its correctness and his failure to protest shall not be deemed to be an admission of the correctness of the account.