"The interest rate agreed between the borrower and the borrower shall not exceed the annual interest rate of 24%. If the lender requests the borrower to pay interest at the agreed interest rate, the people's court shall support it.
The interest rate agreed between the borrower and the borrower exceeds the annual interest rate of 36%, and the interest agreement in excess is invalid. The people's court shall support the borrower's request to the lender to return the part of the interest paid that exceeds 36% per annum. "
In other words, only the loan interest rate within 24% is protected by law. If the loan interest rate exceeds 36%, the interest agreement for the excess part is invalid. Invalid here does not mean that the loan relationship is invalid, and the borrower does not have to pay it back. It only means that the interest over 36% is invalid.
The law here does not clearly say what the 24%~36% part should be. However, the judicial department has explained that 24%~36% of the interest belongs to the natural debt zone. The lender filed a lawsuit to ask the court to protect this interest, and the court refused to protect it, but the court did not object if the borrower was willing to perform it automatically.
Simply put, the interest within 24% of the agreed loan interest is protected by law and the borrower must repay it; 24%~36% of the part, the borrower can still not return; The borrower may not pay back more than 36%, or may require the lender to return the interest that it has paid for more than 36%.
Article 29 provides that:
If there is an agreement between the borrower and the borrower on the overdue interest rate, such agreement shall prevail, but the annual interest rate shall not exceed 24%.
Article 30 provides that:
"The lender and the borrower agreed on overdue interest rates and liquidated damages or other expenses. The lender may choose to claim overdue interest, liquidated damages or other expenses, or both, but the people's court will not support the part that exceeds 24% of the annual interest rate. "
According to the above provisions, the lending institution may charge the user penalty interest, liquidated damages or other fees after the user is overdue, but the comprehensive interest rate is unreasonable, and the part exceeding 24% is not protected by law.