The New Year’s eve is unlikely to be celebratory or peaceful for many individuals this time round. As the deadline of December 30 to deposit old, demonetised notes approaches, the central government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have unleashed another set of rules that call for accountholders’ attention and quick action. Here’s a checklist:
1. Deposit over Rs 5000 only once till December 30
If you have more than Rs 5,000 in demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations lying in forgotten corners, envelopes or handbags, make sure you deposit them with your bank at one go before December 30. If your account is not KYC-compliant, your bank can restrict the credit to up to Rs 50,000, as per the RBI notification issued on Monday.
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2. Be prepared to be questioned by bank officials
The RBI directive also instructs the banks to get two of its officials to inquire the reasons for not depositing the amount earlier. “The credit in such cases shall be afforded only after questioning 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,” it states. The circular is not clear on whether explanations will be sought from all accountholders or only those who are not KYC compliant.
3. Depositing smaller sums in installments will not help
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Do not make the mistakes of depositing small amounts in tranches up to December 30 to circumvent the rule as the aggregate of deposits made will be taken into account for the purpose. “Even when tenders smaller than Rs 5000 are made in an account and such tenders taken together on cumulative basis exceed Rs 5000 they may be subject to the procedure to be followed in case of tenders above Rs 5000, with no more tenders being allowed thereafter until December 30, 2016,” the central bank has said. Moreover, clarity is needed on whether the earlier announcement of accepting old notes at RBI’s designated offices until March 31 still holds good.
4. New amnesty scheme exempt from the new restriction
The restriction on deposits of over Rs 5,000 in withdrawn notes will not apply to the recently-announced he Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, an amnesty scheme for those with unaccounted cash.
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