Default

1. Contract.

Failure to honour the terms of an agreement.

For example, failure to honour the terms of a loan agreement, or an obligation under a futures contract.

2. Borrowing and lending - documentation.

In borrowing and lending, default clauses are the part of the documentation that protect the investor (lender).

Accordingly default clauses are incorporated into loan agreements and bond indentures.

Examples of default by a borrower include failure to pay interest or principal on time, and breaching a covenant.

3. Other obligations - tax compliance.

More broadly, any failure to fulfil an obligation.

For example, late delivery of a tax return under the applicable tax compliance regime.

4. Systems design - behavioural economics - decision making.

'By default', or a 'default position', means a choice or determination that is made, when no other positive decision or initiative has been taken.

Taxation in Qatar

"There are two separate tax regimes in operation in Qatar and an entity is under the remit of only one regime.

By default an entity is under the State of Qatar regime.

Alternatively, an entity is under the remit of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) regime if the entity is licensed with the QFC."

Qatar - the Treasurer's Wiki

Another example of a default position is the cognitive status quo bias to favour pre-existing conditions or choices, whatever they are.

See also