Curb on old note deposits: Influential step taken to curtail any misuse, says MoS Finance

Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Monday said, the decision taken to deposit old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes exceeding Rs. 5000 only once per account until December 30 after a satisfactory explanation, is an influential step, asserting that the move was taken to curtail any misuse.

"This was done because we don't want any misuse. We are taking out an influential step," Gangwar told the media.

Tenders of Specified Bank Notes (SBN) in excess of Rs. 5,000 into a bank account will be received for credit only once during the remaining period till December 30, 2016.

The credit in such cases shall be afforded only after questioning the tenderer, on record, in the presence of at least two officials of the bank, as to why this could not be deposited earlier and receiving a satisfactory explanation.

"The explanation should be kept on record to facilitate an audit trail at a later stage. An appropriate flag also should be raised in Core Banking Solutions (CBS) to that effect so that no more tenders are allowed," the RBI said in a statement.

It may also be ensured that full value of tenders of SBNs in excess of Rs. 5000 shall be credited to only (Know Your Customer) KYC compliant accounts and if the accounts are not KYC compliant credits may be restricted up to Rs. 50,000 subject to the conditions governing the conduct of such accounts.

"The above restrictions shall not apply to tenders of SBNs for the purpose of deposits under the Taxation and Investment Regime for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016," the RBI added.

The equivalent value of specified bank notes tendered may be credited to an account maintained by the tenderer at any bank in accordance with standard banking procedure and on production of valid proof of identity.

The equivalent value of specified bank notes tendered may be credited to a third party account, provided specific authorisation therefore accorded by the third party is presented to the bank, following standard banking procedure and on production of valid proof of identity of the person actually tendering.