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Now People Living Abroad will be able to Exchange Demonetised High Value Currency till 31st March 2017

Here comes the new rule from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for those living abroad and this could be the good news for the hundreds
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Here comes the new rule from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for those living abroad and this could be the good news for the hundreds of thousands Goans living abroad and have the old demonetised currency in their possession. According to the new RBI guidelines now the people who were out of the country from 10th November 2016 to 30 December 2016 will be allowed to exchange the old scrapped notes from the Banks provided they follow the guidelines laid down by the RBI. Check out here….

The earlier guidelines of RBI had ended on December 31st and all the scrapped notes became completely invalid but the new guidelines could result in bringing in the substantial amount of currency that may be available to the people living abroad. It may be recalled that the PM Modi’s demonetisation speech had hinted the possibilities of exchange of the old scrapped notes post 30th December subject to conditions Exchange disallowed at several RBI offices across the country.

According to the sources, the grace period allowed by the RBI to NRI’s and people living abroad will be extended from 3 to 6 months for exchanging the old demonetised notes in the banks. Based on the article published but the Indian Express the NRI’s will have to show old notes to the customs officer at the airport at the time of returning back to the country. The reports say that “NRIs and Indian nationals abroad can deposit up to Rs 25,000 of the demonetised currency during the 3-6 month grace period, but only if they show the junked notes to Customs officials at the airport and get a declaration form stamped. The declaration will have to be submitted at specified branches of the Reserve Bank while depositing the junked currency, a finance ministry notification stated. While the 50-day window for such deposits at banks or post offices ended on December 30, the government has offered a grace period for those who were abroad.”

The limit of Rs. 25000 has been set under the provision of  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. According to the sources, taking the advantage of the new developments several citizens who were turned away at RBI offices in 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 there was no grace period. “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 a RBI official.               

According to the sources, 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”.

A 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 offense as of now,” she said.

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