View All - 2026 Acts
Section No :  
Acts & Ordinances
MICROFINANCE AND CREDIT REGULATORY AUTHORITY ACT
Marginal Notes
1. Short title and date of operation
2. Establishment of the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority
3. Objects of the Authority
4. Powers, duties and functions of the Authority
5. Constitution of the Board of Directors
6. Chairperson of the Authority
7. Disqualifications from being a member of the Authority
8. Term of office of appointed members of the Board
9. Removal, resignation etc. of appointed members
10. Quorum and meetings of the Board
11. Acts or proceedings of the Board deemed not to be invalid by reason of any vacancy
12. Remuneration of the members of the Board, experts or officials
13. Seal of the Authority
14. Branches of the Authority
15. Delegation of any power or function by the Authority
16. Agreements with other institutions
17. Director-General of the Authority
18. Staff of the Authority
19. Secondment of officers of the Central Bank to the staff of the Authority
20. Licensed persons to carry out a moneylending business
21. Prohibition against holding out as a licensed moneylender
22. Application for a licence
23. Issue of a licence
24. Renewal of a licence
25. Conditions of the licence
26. Display of licence at places of business
27. Refusal to grant or renew a licence
28. Cancellation of a licence issued
29. Voluntary cancellation of a licence
30. Upon cancellation, moneylender to surrender the licence
31. Forms of business that may be carried out by a moneylender
32. Licensed persons to carry on the Microfinance business
33. Specific directives for microfinance institutions
34. Regulatory approval
35. Informing certain events to the Director-General
36. Act continue to apply in case of liquidation, dissolution or winding up
37. Directives to licencees
38. Authority may make rules or issue directives
39. Regulatory actions
40. Disqualification for holding office
41. Licencees to provide documents or information
42. Examination of licencees
43. Duty to comply with any requirement imposed under this Part
44. Not to engage in banking business, finance business or microfinance business
45. Formulation of guidelines in customer protection
46. Obligations of a licencee
47. No agreement to be entered with a minor
48. The loan agreement
49. Actions prohibited by a licencee
50. Credit counseling centers
51. Handling of customer complaints made to the Authority
52. Customer due diligence requirements
53. Responsibilities of customers
54. Powers of investigation in addition to powers of examination
55. Investigation of offences
56. Court order to obtain information
57. Impounding of passports of persons investigated
58. Compounding of offences
59. Offences by employees
60. Penalty for contravention of the Act
61. Fund of the Authority
62. Financial year and audit of accounts
63. Application of Part II of the Finance Act, No. 38 of 1971
64. Secrecy on transactions
65. Secrecy of information
66. Posting deemed to be proper notice
67. Central Bank to issue guidelines to the Authority
68. Register of licencees
69. List of licencees to be published
70. Use of the words "credit", "microcredit", "lending", "lenders" "moneylenders" and "microfinance" in business names
71. Obligations of media institutions
72. Licensed microfinance institutions deemed to be "credit institutions" for the purpose of CRIB Act
73. Proof of grant of a licence
74. Certified copies to be accepted as evidence of originals
75. Licencees exempted under Money Lending Ordinance
76. Defence in criminal or civil proceedings
77. Expenses incurred to be paid out of the Fund
78. Authority deemed to be a Scheduled Institution within the meaning of the Anti-Corruption Act
79. Members, officers and employees of the Authority deemed to be public servants
80. Persons carrying on the business of moneylending to continue business for twenty four months
81. Repeal of the Microfinance Act
82. Institutions licensed under the Microfinance Act deemed to be licensed under this Act
83. Interpretations
84. Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency