TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
Safe Deposit Locker/Safe Custody Article Facility provided by the banks - Revised Instructions
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.... No. 3966 of 2010). 2. Accordingly, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 35A and Sections 45ZC to 45ZF of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, read with Section 56 of the Act ibid and all other provisions of this Act or any other law enabling the Reserve Bank in this regard, the Reserve Bank being satisfied that it is necessary and expedient in public interest to do so, hereby issues the detailed revised instructions on the above subject. The revised instructions, attached as Annex to this circular, are issued in supersession of the earlier instructions issued by the Reserve Bank on the subject as listed in the Appendix. The banks are advised to frame their own Board approved policy/ operational guidelines in this regard taking into account the revised instructions. 3. The revised instructions shall come into force with effect from January 1, 2022 (except where otherwise specified) and be applicable to both new and existing safe deposit lockers and the safe custody of articles facility with the banks. Yours faithfully, (Thomas Mathew) Chief General Manager ANNEX Safe Deposit Locker / Safe Custody Article Facility- Revised Instructions (Circu....
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....nt with the CDD criteria under the Master Direction - Know Your Customer (KYC) Directions, 2016 (as updated from time to time) may be given the facilities of safe deposit lockers/ safe custody article subject to on-going compliance. 1.2 Customers who are not having any other banking relationship with the bank may be given the facilities of safe deposit locker / safe custody article after complying with the CDD criteria under the Master Direction - Know Your Customer (KYC) Directions, 2016 (as updated from time to time) and subject to on-going compliance. The due diligence shall be carried out for all the customers in whatever rights and capacities they may be hiring the locker. 1.3 Banks shall incorporate a clause in the locker agreement that the locker-hirer/s shall not keep anything illegal or any hazardous substance in the Safe Deposit locker. If the bank suspects the deposit of any illegal or hazardous substance by any customer in the safe deposit locker, the bank shall have the right to take appropriate action against such customer as it deems fit and proper in the circumstances. 1.4 The banks shall obtain recent passport size photographs of locker-hirer(s) and indivi....
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....specifically permitted above will be considered as a restrictive practice. 2.2.2 If locker rent is collected in advance, in the event of surrender of a locker by a customer, the proportionate amount of advance rent collected shall be refunded to the customer. 2.2.3 If there is any event such as merger / closure / shifting of branch warranting physical relocation of the lockers, the bank shall give public notice in two newspapers (including one local daily in vernacular language) in this regard and the customers shall be intimated at least two months in advance along with options for them to change or close the facility. In case of unplanned shifting due to natural calamities or any other such emergency situation, banks shall make efforts to intimate their customers suitably at the earliest. PART III: Infrastructure and Security Standards 3.1 Security of the Strong Room/Vault 3.1.1 Banks shall take necessary steps to ensure that the area in which the locker facility is housed is properly secured to prevent criminal break-ins. The risks of accessibility of an allotted locker from any side without involvement of the locker-hirer concerned may be assessed and kept on rec....
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....prescribed by the Reserve Bank. The system should be capable of maintaining unalterable log of locker activities. The banks shall comply with the relevant statutory / regulatory guidelines/requirements applicable for IT / data protection. Further, the banks shall also devise a standard operating procedure for issue of new password in lieu of lost passwords to customers in a safe and secure manner in case of electronically operated lockers. 3.2.3 Banks shall ensure that identification Code of the bank / branch is embossed on all the locker keys with a view to facilitating identification of lockers / locker ownership by law enforcement agencies in case of need. Further, the custodian of the locker shall, regularly/periodically, check the keys maintained in the branch to ensure that they are in proper condition. Banks shall permit the locker-hirer to operate the locker only with the key provided by the bank, although there is no restriction in allowing the customer to use an additional padlock of her /his own if there are such provisions in lockers. PART IV: Locker Operations 4.1 Regular Operations by Customers 4.1.1 The locker hirer and/or the persons duly authorized by h....
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....romptly intimated through e-mail, if registered or through SMS, if mobile number is registered or through letter so that they may verify any resulting discrepancy in the contents of the locker. The bank custodian shall record the fact of not closing the locker properly in the register and its closure by the bank with the date and time. Further, the custodian of the locker room shall carry out a physical check of the locker room at the end of the day to ensure that lockers are properly closed, and that no person is inadvertently trapped in the locker room after banking hours. PART V: Nomination Facility and Settlement of Claims 5.1 Nomination Facility 5.1.1 The banks shall offer nomination facility in case of safe deposit lockers and safe custody of articles, in accordance with the provisions of section 45-ZC to 45-ZF of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and Banking Companies (Nomination) Rules, 1985/Co-operative Banks (Nomination) Rules, 1985. In case the nominee is a minor, the same procedure as prescribed for the bank accounts shall be followed by the banks. A passport size photo of the nominee attested by the customer may be obtained from the customers, at his/her option....
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....dentification of the claimant(s) with reference to nomination, to the bank's satisfaction. 5.2.5 Banks shall report to the Customer Service Committee of the Board, at appropriate intervals, on an ongoing basis, the details of the number of claims received pertaining to deceased locker-hirers / depositors of safe custody article accounts and those pending beyond the stipulated period, with reasons therefor. Customer Service Committee of the Board of the banks shall review the settlement of claims and make suggestions to ensure that the claims are settled as early as possible unless there is any litigation pending before the Courts or any difficulty is being faced in identifying the true claimant with reference to nomination. 5.3 Access to the articles in the safe deposit lockers / return of safe custody articles 5.3.1 If the sole locker hirer nominates an individual to receive the contents in the locker, in case of his death, after verification of the death certificate and satisfying the identity and genuineness of such individual approached, the banks shall give access of the locker to such nominee with liberty to remove the contents of the locker, after an inventory w....
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.... competent to receive articles on behalf of the minor, as the case may be, that all the contents in the locker or in the safe custody of the bank, as the case may be, are received and the locker is empty and they have no objection to allotment of the locker to any other customer as per norms. 5.3.5 While giving access to the survivor(s) / nominee(s) of the deceased locker hirer / depositor of the safe custody articles, banks may avoid insisting on the production of succession certificate, letter of administration or probate, etc., or obtain any bond of indemnity or surety from the survivor(s)/nominee(s), unless there is any discrepancy in nomination. In this regard, banks shall take note of our instructions under para 5.3.2. 5.3.6 In case where the deceased locker hirer had not made any nomination or where the joint hirers had not given any mandate that the access may be given to one or more of the survivors by a clear survivorship clause, banks shall adopt a Board approved policy to facilitate access to legal heir(s) / legal representative of the deceased locker hirer. In this regard, banks shall take note of our instructions under para 5.3.2. Similar procedure shall....
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....or the articles left by a customer for safe custody of the bank by any Authority acting either under the orders of a Court or any other competent authority vested with the power to pass such orders, the banks shall co-operate in execution and implementation of the orders. 6.2.2 The bank shall verify and satisfy itself about the orders and the connected documents received for attachment and recovery of the contents in a locker or articles in the safe custody of the bank. The customer (locker-hirer) shall be informed by letter as well as by email/SMS to the registered email id/mobile phone number that the Government Authorities have approached for attachment and recovery or seizure of the locker or articles deposited for safe custody. An inventory of the contents of locker and articles seized and recovered by the Authority shall be prepared in the presence of such Government Authorities, two independent witnesses and an officer of the bank and shall be signed by all. A copy of the inventory may be forwarded to the customer to the address available in the bank's records or handed over to the customer against acknowledgement. 6.2.3 Banks shall also record a video of the break-ope....
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....he locker and during settlement of claims, is in the appropriate forms as provided at the end of this circular or as near thereto as circumstances require. Further, banks shall not open sealed/closed packets left with them for safe custody or found in locker while releasing them to the nominee(s) and surviving locker hirers / depositor of safe custody article, unless required by law. 6.4 Discharge of locker contents if the locker remains inoperative for a long period of time 6.4.1 If the locker remains inoperative for a period of seven years and the locker-hirer cannot be located, even if rent is being paid regularly, the bank shall be at liberty to transfer the contents of the locker to their nominees/legal heir or dispose of the articles in a transparent manner, as the case may be. Before breaking open the locker, the bank shall follow the procedure as prescribed in paragraph 6.3.2 and 6.3.3 above. Banks shall ensure that the procedure to be followed by them for disposal of the articles left unclaimed for a reasonably long period of time as mentioned above is incorporated in their locker agreement. 6.4.2 The banks shall ensure that appropriate terms are inserted in the l....
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....oss of contents of locker are due to incidents mentioned above or attributable to fraud committed by its employee(s), the banks' liability shall be for an amount equivalent to one hundred times the prevailing annual rent of the safe deposit locker. PART VIII: Risk Management, Transparency and Customer Guidance 8.1 Branch Insurance Policy Banks, with the approval of their Board, shall have a branch insurance policy to minimize the loss due to incidents like robbery, fire, natural calamities, loss during shifting/merger of branch, etc., affecting contents of lockers. 8.2 Insurance of locker contents by the customer Banks shall clarify in their locker agreement that as they do not keep a record of the contents of the locker or of any articles removed therefrom or placed therein by the customer, they would not be under any liability to insure the contents of the locker against any risk whatsoever. Banks shall under no circumstances offer, directly or indirectly, any insurance product to its locker hirers for insurance of locker contents. 8.3 Customer guidance and publicity 8.3.1 The banks shall display the model locker agreement with all the Terms & Conditions....
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....ehalf of minor Nominee) 16 Address Signature_ I, Shri/Smt. OR Address Signature_ _(Nominee / appointed on behalf of minor Nominee) hereby acknowledge receipt of the articles comprised and set out in the above inventory together with a copy of the said inventory. Shri/Smt. Signature_ (Nominee) Shri/Smt. (Appointed on behalf of minor Date & Place_ Nominee) Signature_ Date & Place Form of Inventory of Contents of Safety Locker Hired from Banking Company (Section 45ZE (4) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949) The following inventory of contents of Safety Locker No. Deposit Vault of located in the Safe Branch at * hired by Shri/Smt. deceased in his/her sole name. *hired by Shri/Smt. (i) (ii) (deceased) Jointly (iii) was taken on this day of 20 Sr. No. Description of Articles in Safety Locker Other Identifying Particulars, if any For the purpose of inventory, access to the locker was given to the Nominee/and the surviving hirers ⚫who produced the key to the locker. • by breaking open the locker under his/her/their instructions. 17 17 The above inve....