Long Headline: Note Ban: From April 1, possession of old Rs 500, Rs 1,000 will be punishable as the deadline ends today

From April 1, possession of demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 will land you in jail, as the deadline for depositing old scrapped notes to the Reserve Bank of India ends today.

According to the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017, holding of more than 10 scrapped notes is punishable with a minimum fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the cash held, whichever is higher.

As per the RBI guidelines, today is the last day for those Indian citizens who were abroad during November-December 2016 to deposit and exchange Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for.

The NRIs can do the same till June 30. The deposit and exchange of notes can be done at RBI offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Nagpur only.

But not all people who are queuing outside the Reserve Bank offices are eligible. Here are the guidelines which make you qualified to do the same.

• The 50-day deadline to deposit the old Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes in banks was ended on December 30. However, PM Narendra Modi in his address to nation on November 8 had said that those who are outside India  during November-December 2016 can do the same till March 31. In case of NRIs the last day to exchange the old notes is scheduled to be June 30.

• There is no limit of exchanging and depositing the demonetised currency notes for eligible residents Indians. But the limit for NRIs will be as per the FEMA Regulations.

• NRIs also need the Customs authorities' approval to certify the amount of the demonetised notes as that certificate would be required at the RBI office.

• Also, if RBI rejects to accept th eold notes, the law states that one can make a representation to the Central Board of the Bank within 14 days.

The government is also planning to come out with an Ordinance making possession of old Rs 500/1,000 notes beyond a specified limit for numismatic purposes illegal and punishable.

 

Meanwhile on March 13, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted the withdrawal limit on savings account putting an end to withdrawal policies related to demonetisation.

The RBI in a notification on February 8  had said that it would enhance the withdrawal limit on saving accounts in two phases. From February 20, 2017 the limit on cash withdrawal would be increased to Rs 50,000 per week and from March 13, 2017, there would not be any limit on cash withdrawals.

The government had given citizens a 50-day period to exchange old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes after Prime Minister's shocking announcement on November 8 to ban these two notes.  

The RBI has not yet revealed the total number of old notes that was removed from the banking system and the number of new notes that were pumped in.

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