Government of India vide their Notification no. 2652 dated November 8, 2016 have withdrawn the Legal Tender status of ₹ 500 and ₹ 1,000 denominations of banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series issued by the Reserve Bank of India till November 8, 2016.

This is necessitated to tackle counterfeiting Indian banknotes, to effectively nullify black money hoarded in cash and curb funding of terrorism with fake notes.

Starting from November 10, 2016, members of public/corporates, business firms, societies, trusts, etc., holding these notes can tender them at any office of the Reserve Bank or any bank branch and obtain value thereof by credit into their respective bank accounts.

For their immediate cash needs, these notes of value up to ₹ 4,000 per person can be exchanged for cash over the counter of these bank branches.

Public are advised to present a valid proof of identity for availing this exchange facility.

Value credited to their bank accounts can be freely used by issue of cheques or by remitting through various electronic modes of transfer like NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, mobile banking, internet banking etc. Cash withdrawals from bank accounts, over the bank counters, will be restricted to a limited amount of ₹ 10,000 per day subject to an overall limit of ₹ 20,000 a week from November 9, 2016 till end of business on November 24, 2016. The limits will be reviewed after this.

All ATMs and other cash machines will remain shut on November 9, 2016 to facilitate recalibration. When ready, they will be reactivated and cash drawals from ATMs will be restricted to ₹ 2,000 per day per card up to November 18, 2016 and the limits shall be raised to ₹ 4000 per day per card from November 19, 2016.

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 the Reserve Bank or such other facility until a later date as may be specified by the Reserve Bank.

For more details members of the public may visit RBI website www.rbi.org.in and Government web site www.gov.nic.in for further information and details.

Alpana Killawala
Principal Adviser

Withdrawal of legal tender status requires exchange or deposit of affected banknotes under prescribed identity, deposit and cash withdrawal limits. Withdrawal of legal tender status for specified banknotes requires holders to tender them at Reserve Bank offices or bank branches for credit or limited over the counter exchange on production of valid identity; credited funds may be used by cheque or electronic transfer while cash withdrawals and ATM dispensation are temporarily subject to prescribed daily and weekly limits, with ATMs recalibrated and an extended facility for late deposits to be provided at designated Reserve Bank locations.