Note ban: RBI closes window for Indians abroad; NRIs can exchange till June 30

The limited period window for the exchange of junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by Indians who were abroad ended on Friday with many failing to do so because of limited counters and lack of procedural awareness.

However, additional time period of three months is available to non-resident Indians (NRIs) with a rider of exchange of Rs 25,000 per individual. The exchange window for NRIs will close on June 30.

Long serpentine queues of people were seen outside five RBI offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Nagpur— the designated offices for exchange of scrapped notes— on Friday.

People had to travel long distances due to limitation of designated branches to deposit scrapped currency notes.

In many cases, people had to wait for 6-7 hours and in some cases it took days for exchange due to lack of required documents.

Earlier this week, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal had informed the Rajya Sabha that ineligible persons queueing up at the Reserve Bank were responsible for long queues.

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The minister said RBI had posted detailed instructions on its website clearly showing the eligibility parameters and other necessary documents required to be tendered for exchange of old notes.

“Long queues are formed in Mumbai and Delhi only as a number of persons from the neighbouring states are turning up here. Several staff members have been engaged to attend to the large number of people at the counters,” Meghwal had said.

After scrapping old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 on November 8, the government had permitted people to deposit the same in banks up to December 30, 2016.

Meghwal stated that while there was no monetary limit for exchange of currency notes for residents who were abroad during the demonetisation period, there was a cap for NRIs as per FEMA regulations.

NRIs coming to India are required to come through Red Channel disclosing to the Customs authorities at the airport the amount of now-defunct notes and secure a certificate to be tendered at the RBI at the time of exchange.

The exchange facility till June is subject to the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015. As per these regulations, bringing back such currency into the country is restricted to Rs 25,000 per person.

The government had declared 500 and 1,000 denomination bank notes as illegal tender from November 9, 2016.  Subsequently, the President approved the promulgation of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance) Ordinance, 2016 on December 30.

The ordinance imposes penal liabilities on the holders of scrapped notes after the specified date. It makes holding, transfer and receiving of the demonetised notes a criminal offence, punishable with a fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the cash held whichever is higher.

Read | Long queues at RBI offices to exchange invalid notes amid fast approaching Mar 31 deadline

Emotions run high outside RBI as Mar 31 deadline ends

US-based Anant Pal Singh made a dash for the RBI office from the Delhi airport today to get his demonetised currency notes exchanged, only to have his patience tested while standing in a serpentine queue to get his job done.

The deadline for exchange of invalid notes by residents who were abroad during the cash ban ended this evening. The window for NRIs will, however, remain open till June 30.

“I got all the Customs formalities done at the airport and just rushed from there straight to RBI. I couldn’t sleep as long as I had those old currency bills with me. Glad it’s finally off my back, but I had to stand in the queue for hours,” Singh said.

His wife Surjeet Kaur, who took care of children in a car, while Singh stood in the line, said, “We live in California and divide our time between India and the US.”

“We were not in Delhi when the demonetisation took place.  I am glad we got this done today as we are here only for a few more days,” she said.But not many were as fortunate.

“I was out of India last November-December. There was some confusion regarding the last date also. I came very late today and couldn’t get my currency exchanged,” said Nikhil Bansal, who resides in south Delhi.

Though the March 31 deadline pertained to Indians who were abroad during the 50-day demonetisation period from November 8, many people, who were in the country but could not get the currency exchanged, made a last-ditch effort as the gates of RBI closed for the day.

90-year-old Gulabo Devi, who came from a village near Aligarh, along with her daughter Sunita, made a tearful plea to the Prime Minister to get her old notes exchanged.

“Modiji tell me what should I do? I live alone and I am left with Rs 13,000 in old notes. How will I survive? Please help me,” she pleaded as RBI officials looked the other way.

Then, there were people who were ill or underwent surgical operation recently. They contended their cases should be treated as exceptional.

“I suffered from chikungunya in November and then had to go for heart check-up. I was not in a position to stand in a queue. The government must think of us,” 60-year-old Malti Devi, said.

Among those standing in the winding queues were some who had a death in the family and the cash was later found stashed in an attic or kept wrapped in a saree in a secluded corner.

“My mother died in February and we were busy with her last rites. Then we searched her boxes and found old currency notes in Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations. Now, what do we do?” Nisha Thakur, a resident of Dilshad Garden, asked after being turned away.