Banks Refuse to Take Deposits Over Rs 5,000 After Policy Confusion

The RBI said that demonetised currency above Rs 5,000 can be deposited in bank accounts only once till 30 December

Officials at many banks across the country refused to accept deposits in excess of Rs 5,000, reported The Times of India. While some banks claimed they had orders of executing such transactions only in the presence of two officers, the others were advised to not carry them out unless they were fully “satisfied”.

According to the report, a bank manager said:

I don’t want to take a risk and later be questioned or investigated for having accepted more than Rs 5,000. ‘Satisfaction’ is a subjective term. Several bank officials pointed out that branches outside cities and big towns often have just one officer, who is the manager, while the rest are clerical staff. Where’s the question of having two officers present?

Also Read: Now, Deposits Over Rs 5,000 Can Be Made Only Once Till 30 December

The RBI announced on Monday that demonetised currency above Rs 5,000 can now be deposited in bank accounts only once till 30 December.

However, people depositing the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in excess of Rs 5,000 will be questioned in the presence of at least two bank officials about why it was not deposited earlier, the RBI said in a notification.

Following the RBI's new rules pertaining to the depositing of demonetised currency, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday that no questions will be asked if any amount of old currency is deposited in one go. However, he warned that repeated deposits may provoke queries.

The statement from the Finance Minister appears to contradict the RBI’s announcement since he said there will not be a scrutiny for the first deposit.

If they go and deposit with bank any amount of currency no questions are going to be asked to them and therefore the 5,000 rupee limit does not apply to them if they go and deposit it once.

Arun Jaitley

Also Read: Deposit Your Old Notes in One Go by 30 December: Arun Jaitley

Another report by The Hindu added that the bankers are worried about running into trouble with tax authorities later, thereby leading to their reluctance to accept these deposits. The report cited case studies from areas like Meerut and Punjab of hassled depositors. Commenting on this, a Union Bank of India official said:

The government and the RBI should have allowed all deposits to come in till December 30. Immediately thereafter, the I-T Department could have swung into action, questioning depositors as to the source of the cash deposit.

Also Read: RBI’s Note Ban Rules Change More Frequently Than Your ATM Visits

(With inputs from The Times of India and The Hindu.)