Bank Deadline for Rs 2,000 Note Exchange: Know What Will Stop on October 8 by Today

On September 30, the Reserve Bank of India extended the special operation to remove Rs 2,000 bank notes from circulation for an additional week, till October 7 (Saturday).

Before, September 30, 2023, was the last day to deposit or exchange notes of Rs 2,000.

The central bank has said in a statement that “it has been decided to extend the current arrangement for deposit/exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes until October 07, 2023.”

July 7 deadline

Even after October 7, according to the RBI, the Rs 2,000 notes “shall continue to be legal tender,” although it urged the people to deposit or exchange the notes “without any further delay.”

Beginning on October 8, consumers will no longer be able to deposit or exchange money at bank branches; instead, they must do it at one of RBI’s 19 offices.

There is no limit for notes presented at RBI offices for crediting into bank accounts, however there is a ceiling of Rs 20,000 per transaction for notes being exchanged.

The announcement said that anyone inside the nation may also send Rs 2,000 notes by India Post, addressed to any of the 19 RBI Issue Offices, for credit to their Indian bank accounts, but added that such a transaction would be subject to government regulation and documentation requirements.

The RBI also said that any public authority participating in inquiry or enforcement actions, including courts, law enforcement agencies, government departments, or other public bodies, may deposit or exchange notes worth Rs 2,000 at any of its offices without any restrictions.

“Until further advice,” the RBI said, “the facility for deposit/exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes at the 19 RBI Issue Offices shall be available.”

19 May Announcement

The RBI unexpectedly announced the removal of Rs 2,000 notes on May 19, 2023, but insisted that this was not a similar action to the demonetisation that took place in November 2016 in which Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were deemed invalid overnight.

According to the RBI, the introduction of the bigger denomination notes fulfilled the intended aim of hastening the remonetization of the economy. Concerns over the caliber of the notes in circulation also existed since it had ceased issuing the notes from FY19.

The decision to remove Rs 2,000 notes had some unexpected effects, including as assisting banks in reporting larger deposit growth—a difficult issue for the system for a while.

Shaktikanta Das, the governor of the RBI, recently said that as of right now, Rs 3.43 lakh crore in notes having a face value of Rs 2,000 have returned to circulation. He also reminded the public that they may return the withdrawn notes at 19 RBI locations starting on October 8.

Das said that 87% of the returned notes had been transferred into bank accounts, with the remaining 3% being swapped in person.

According to Das, there are already more than Rs 12,000 crore worth of notes in use, and he emphasized that they may still be refunded even after the extended term has passed.