The State Bank of India (SBI), in the VII Phase of sale of Electoral Bonds, has been authorized to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches (as per list enclosed) w.e.f. 01.01.2019 to 10.01.2019.

It may be noted that Electoral Bonds shall be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue and no payment shall be made to any payee Political Party if the Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period. The Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible Political Party in its account shall be credited on the same day.

Earlier, the Government of India had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 vide Gazette Notification No. 20 dated 02^nd January 2018. As per provisions of the Scheme, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by a person (as defined in item No. 2 (d) of Gazette Notification), who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds. The Electoral Bonds shall be encashed by an eligible Political Party only through a Bank account with the Authorized Bank.

Electoral bonds validity governs credit and encashment rights for eligible political parties through authorized bank accounts. Electoral Bonds are issued and encashed through designated authorized bank branches within a limited issuance window; bonds have a defined validity period beyond which no payment will be made. Bonds deposited by an eligible political party must be credited to its bank account on the same day, and encashment is permitted only through the party's account with the authorized bank. Purchase eligibility is limited to persons who are citizens of India or entities incorporated or established in India, and recipient eligibility is confined to registered political parties meeting the vote-threshold.