missed depositing scrapped notes

turned away at RBI offices

there was no grace period

Those whowith banks before December 30 are finding out that the Reserve Bank of India too has firmly shut its doors to everybody except those who were abroad from November 10 to December 30, 2016.Several citizens who werein different cities on Monday recalled that in his November 8 speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that there may be some who were unable to deposit their old 500 or 1,000 rupee notes by December 30, 2016. “They can go to specified offices of the Reserve Bank of India up to March 31, 2017 and deposit the notes after submitting a declaration form,” the Prime Minister had said on television.However, when depositors turned up at the RBI ’s offices in Kolkata, Ahmedabad and other parts of the country to exchange some notes that were left behind, they were told. “This policy is in the government’s ordinance and notification. The grace period is only for those who were abroad during November and December and did not have an opportunity to deposit,” said an RBI official.The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance did have a provision for allowing deposits but it specified that the grace period was only for those who were overseas at the time of demonetisation . A senior finance ministry official said enough time had been given to residents to deposit old notes.The ordinance issued by the government clearly mentioned that only those who were outside the country during the 50-day period could deposit their old notes, but after stating the reason for their absence, a finance ministry official told TOI. Residents of the country who have forgotten to deposit the old notes even after expiry of the December 30 deadline will not be eligible to deposit the scrapped notes in RBI offices, said the official, adding that indefinite time could not be given to people who were present in the country during the 50-day period. This is in sharp contrast to the RBI press release issued on November 8, which stated that “any person who is unable to exchange or deposit the specified banknotes in their bank accounts on or before December 30, 2016 shall be given an opportunity to do so at specified offices of RBI or such other facility until a later date as may be specified by the RBI”.An RBI spokesperson said the RBI has no advice for citizens who were in the country during the period and, for some reason, were unable to deposit the money in their bank. “The government has issued an ordinance. Holding over Rs 5,000 in old currencies is illegal and a punishable offense. If someone has less than that amount, it is not an offence as of now,” she said.