Lost in the GST din is a crucial piece of information: for non-resident Indians (NRIs), the last date for depositing demonetised notes with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is tomorrow (June 30).
The central bank had announced the deadline on December 31 last year in a notification. "Resident Indian citizens who were abroad during November 9, 2016 to December 30, 2016 can avail this facility up to March 31, 2017 and Non Resident Indian citizens who were abroad during November 9, 2016 to December 30, 2016 can avail this facility up to June 30, 2017," the RBI had said.
"They (NRIs) can avail this facility in their individual capacity once during the period of submission of ID documents, such as, Aadhaar number, Permanent Account Number (PAN) etc, and on submission of documentary evidence showing they were abroad during the period and, that they have not availed the exchange facility earlier, customs certificate about import of SBNs by NRIs etc. No third party tender will be accepted under the facility," the bank added.
The demonetised notes, also referred to as specified bank notes, or SBNs (Rs 1,000 and old Rs 500 denomination), can be deposited at RBI's five offices located at Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Nagpur.
The maximum limit of exchange is Rs 25,000.
The option is not available for Indians resident in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and for those who are Overseas Citizens of India (OCI)/Persons of Indian Origin (PIO). The deadline for resident Indians expired on March 31, 2017.
Here is the relevant extract from the RBI's website for the benefit of NRIs:
How Indian citizens who were abroad exchange the SBNs?
In terms of the Specified Banknotes (Cessation of liabilities) Act 2017, a facility for exchange of SBNs is made available for the resident and non-resident Indian citizens (Indian passport required) who could not avail the facility from November 10 to December 30, 2016 on account of their absence from India during the aforementioned period. The facility was open for residents from January 2, 2017 to March 31, 2017 and for NRIs it will be till June 30, 2017 at five Reserve Bank offices at Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Nagpur.
The facility can be availed only in individual capacity and only on one occasion during the period. No third party tender is permissible under the facility.
This facility will not be available for Indian citizens resident in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The details of the facility including terms/ conditions and modalities thereof are available in our circular DCM (Plg) No 2170/10.27.00/2016-17 dated December 31, 2016.
Link to tender form for Resident Indians and NRIs (holding Indian passport) available here.
Is the facility for exchange of SBNs by NRIs available outside India?
No. For NRIs the facility is available from January 2, 2017 to June 30, 2017 at five Reserve Bank offices at Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Nagpur. The limit of exchange for NRIs will be ₹ 25000/-.
Is the facility available to Overseas Citizens of India (OCI)/Persons of Indian Origin (PIO)?
No, the facility is not available to people who are not Indian citizens.
