Deadline to deposit old notes in banks ends today

The 50-day deadline to deposit the old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in banks comes to an end today, however, people, will still have time to exchange the currency notes at designated RBI counters till March 31 after giving valid reasons for not depositing defunct notes in their accounts by December 30.

Bankers believe that restrictions on withdrawal of cash from banks and ATMs are likely to continue beyond December 30. After the demonetisation, the government had fixed a limit of 24,000 rupees per week on withdrawal from bank accounts and 2,500 rupees per day from ATMs in view of the currency crunch.

The government and the RBI has not specified when the restrictions will be withdrawn. Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa had said that the withdrawal cap will be reviewed after December 30.

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