It’s been 54 days since Prime Minster Narendra Modi scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. And the number of times either the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or the government has introduced some sort of amendment or modification or clarification has been – wait for it – 71.
The Quint brings you a one-click-stop to track all the changes so far.
And many more to come – who knows! We will keep you posted.
Notification No. 71
31 December: After Prime Minister Modi’s speech on New Year’s eve, the RBI said in a notification that Resident Indian citizens, who were abroad during 9 November 2016 to 30 December 2016, can exchange old notes up to 31 March 2017.
And Non-Resident Indian citizens, who were abroad during this period, can avail this facility up to 30 June 2017.
Notification No. 70
30 December: The cash withdrawal limit from ATMs was increased to Rs 4,500 from Rs 2,500 by the RBI. This change will come into effect from 1 January.
It was also told that the disbursals will predominantly be in Rs 500 notes.
Notification No. 69
30 December: All bank branches (other than those of District Cooperative Central Bank) who have accumulated Specified Bank Notes as at the close of business on 30 December 2016 are required to deposit the same in any Issue Office of Reserve Bank or a currency chest on 31 December 2016 itself.
SBNs cannot form part of banks’ cash balances from the close of business as on 31 December 2016.
Notification No. 68
29 December: RBI asks banks to provide additional working capital limit to MSMEs to deal with cash crunch following demonetisation.
Notification No. 67
29 December: There will be no jail term for holding demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, but a minimum fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed. This ordinance will be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee soon and will be effective from 31 December.
Notification No. 66
28 December: The RBI extends the loan repayment window of housing, car, farm and other loans worth up to Rs 1 crore to 90 days – a 30 day extension on top of the initial 60 day deadline.
Notification No. 65
28 December: Center passes Specified Bank Notes Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance, 2016 to permanently end the legal tender status of the old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes.
The possession of notes over a certain amount will be a penal offence from 31 December, attracting a fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the amount, whichever is higher.
Depositing scrapped notes is allowed at certain RBI branches till 31 March. Furnishing wrong information will attract a fine of Rs 5,000 or five times the amount.
Notification No. 64
22 December: Old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes can be used for payment under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) till 31 March.
Notification No. 63
22 December: The RBI clarifies multiple deposits in KYC-compliant accounts allowed till 30 December.
Notification No. 62
21 December: The RBI changed the 19 December order, and exempted fully KYC-compliant bank accounts from the Rs 5,000 cap.
Notification No. 61
20 December: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley clarifies that no questions will be asked if any amount of old currency is deposited in one go. However, he warned that repeated deposits may provoke queries.
Notification No. 60
19 December: No limit on deposits in PMGKY. “Further, an opportunity has been given to the public to make the payments towards tax, penalty, cess/surcharge and deposit under the PMGKY 2016 with the old bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination up to 30 December 2016,” official statement from the government said.
“And if the accounts are not KYC-compliant, credits may be restricted up to Rs 50,000 subject to the conditions governing the conduct of such accounts,” said the RBI.
Notification No. 59
19 December: The RBI says the customer now needs to explain the delay in depositing old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in excess of Rs 5,000, and can deposit only once before 30 December (otherwise would invite scrutiny).
Notification No. 58
16 December: RBI announces relaxation in customer charges for Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD). As a temporary measure, it decides that no charges will be levied on customers for transactions upto Rs 1,000 settled on the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), USSD-based *99#, and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) systems.
Notification No. 57
16 December: RBI announces special measures upto 31 March 2017 for Rationalisation of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for transactions upto Rs 2,000.
For transactions upto Rs 1,000, RBI caps MDR at 0.25 percent of the transaction value.
For transactions above Rs 1,000 and upto Rs 2,000, MDR capped at 0.5 percent of the transaction value.
Notification No. 56
16 December: RBI extends permit for foreign citizens to exchange foreign exchange for Indian currency notes up to a limit of Rs 5,000 per week till 31 December.
Notification No. 55
15 December: Bank accounts with deposits of more than Rs 2 lakh since 8 November 2016, and a total balance more than Rs 5 lakh, were not given permission to withdraw/transfer funds without presenting a PAN card or Form 60 (for those who did not have PAN).
Notification No. 54
1 December: Government says that old Rs 500 notes are valid till 2 December for fuel and purchasing air tickets, instead of 15 December announced earlier.
For convenience of passengers, Indian Railways decided not to levy service charges of Rs 20 for second class and Rs 40 for upper classes on purchase of reserved E-tickets up to 31 December.
Notification No. 53
30 November: RBI limits withdrawal from Jan Dhan accounts to Rs 10,000 a month.
Notification No. 52
30 November: RBI makes modifications to the deposit limit of Specified Bank Notes (SBNs) for banks.
Notification No. 51
(Updated on) 29 November: Accounts under PMJDY which are non-KYC complaint will be allowed to withdraw Rs 5,000 per month from the amount deposited using old notes after 9 November.
Notification No. 50
29 November: Accounts under PMJDY which received deposits in old notes and are fully KYC-compliant account holders may be allowed to withdraw Rs 10,000 from their account in a month.
Notification No. 49
28 November: The RBI said it would allow withdrawals beyond the stipulated limit if one deposited legal (new) currency.
Notification No. 48
27 November: New scheme for depositing old notes with designated currency chest at the district level, under guarantee agreement similar to the current facility available at the RBI offices.
Notification No. 47
25 November: Circular sent out asking banks to stick to earlier weekly limit for withdrawal of Rs 24,000 per week.
Notification No. 46
25 November: Foreign citizens allowed to exchange their currency notes up to a limit of Rs 5,000 per week till 15 December.
Notification No. 45
24 November: The RBI issues a separate statement after the government says that over-the-counter exchange of notes would no longer take place at bank branches, with effect from midnight on 25 November.
The RBI informs that you can continue to exchange your old notes at one of RBI branches.
Notification No. 44
24 November: The RBI changes exchange norms for the fourth time, scraps the facility altogether at bank branches.
Notification No. 43
23 November: Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das announced that central government employees up to Group C will be allowed to draw salary advance up to Rs 10,000 in cash. This amount will be adjusted against their November salaries.
Notification No. 42
23 November: RBI says scrapped notes will not be accepted as deposits in small savings accounts.
Notification No. 41
22 November: NABARD would be utilising its own cash credit limits up to about Rs 23,000 crore to enable the DCCBs to disburse the required crop loans to PACS and farmers.
Notification No. 40
22 November: RBI issues circular to banks, with a list of to-dos for banks to help them curb fraudulent practices with respect to the exchange and acceptance of demonetised bank notes.
Notification No. 39
22 November: Only a day in, RBI modifies rules for cash withdrawal for weddings. RBI asks for a detailed list of persons to whom the cash withdrawn is supposed to be paid, together with a declaration from the people that they do not have a bank account, where the amount proposed to be paid is Rs 10,000 or more. The list should indicate the purpose for which the proposed payments are being made.
Notification No. 38
22 November: Special rules were also announced for merchants.
Notification No. 37
22 November: The limit of semi-closed Prepaid Payment Instrument enhanced from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.
Notification No. 36
22 November: Following the cash cruch post the note ban, RBI issues special measures to incentivise electronic payments.
Notification No. 35
21 November: Current, overdraft and cash-credit accounts, which were operational for three months or more, allowed to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 in cash per week.
Notification No. 34
21 November: If you were getting married, you were allowed to withdraw a maximum of Rs 2,50,000 from a single account. But you were asked to provide a host of reasons to prove that you needed the cash for your wedding.
Notification No. 33
18 November: Now 2,500 petrol pumps with SBI PoS terminals can disburse cash up to a limit of Rs 2,000 by swiping debit cards.
Notification No. 32
18 November: Cash withdrawal through Point of Sale (PoS) systems across all cities made uniform at Rs 2,000 per day per account. This is aimed at easing pressure on banks.
Notification No. 31
17 November: Traders in agricultural mandis permitted to draw up to Rs 50,000 in cash per week to pay for sundry expenses like wages.
Government announces select Public Sector Unit (PSU) petrol pumps start dispensing Rs 2,000 per person in cash against swiping of debit cards. However, most pumps deny service on account of Point of Sale machines and lack of cash.
Notification No. 30
17 November: The government had also decided that the time limit in crop insurance premium cases will be extended by 15 days.
Notification No. 29
17 November: Farmers and farm traders breathed a sigh of relief after farmers were allowed to withdraw Rs 25,000 per week.
Notification No. 28
17 November: Exchange limit changed for the third time, reduced to Rs 2,000 per day.
Notification No. 27
15 November: At this point, you may have got inked. Banks started using indelible ink to identify people queuing up to exchange old notes.
Notification No. 26
14 November: Government extended acceptance of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for public utility and fuel payment till 24 November.
Notification No. 25
14 November: Charges on ATM transactions waived till 30 December.
Notification No. 24
14 November: The cash withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000 per week is not applicable to withdrawal of cash by a DCCB from its account with any other bank.
Notification No. 23
14 November: Banks may deploy their Micro ATMs (Bala Mitras, etc) near village panchayat offices, police stations/police and military outposts, government departments, offices of Public Sector Units, petrol pumps and other similar secure locations.
Notification No. 22
14 November: Banks shall waive levy of ATM charges for all transactions (inclusive of both financial and non-financial transactions) by savings bank customers from 10 November 2016 till 30 December 2016.
Notification No. 21
14 November: Current account holders can withdraw Rs 50,000 per week.
Notification No. 20
14 November: If you are a District Central Cooperative bank customer, you can withdraw Rs 24,000 per week. However, you cannot exchange old notes for new ones, or deposit old notes. DCCBs are the backbone of rural economy and the only banking apparatus available to farmers and farm labourers.
Notification No. 19
13 November: Withdrawal limit from branches increased to Rs 24,000 a week; daily limit removed.
Notification No. 18
13 November: The last date for submission of the annual life certificate for the government pensioners extended from November end to 15 January 2017.
Notification No. 17
13 November: Exchange limit raised to Rs 4,500 per day. Daily ATM withdrawal limit increased to Rs 2,500 per day from Rs 2,000 in recalibrated ATMs.
Notification No. 16
12 November: RBI once again calls for calm and urges people to utilise alternative payment methods.
Notification No. 15
11 November: In order to avoid any inconvenience to foreign tourists, RBI asks authorities to issue pre-paid instruments to foreign tourists in exchange of foreign exchange tendered.
Notification No. 14
11 November: Government departments may be allowed to draw cash beyond the stipulated limit of Rs 10,000. Government also extends exemptions for using old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes till 14 November midnight.
Notification No. 13
11 November: RBI assures you that enough time will be provided to exchange your old notes.
Notification No. 12
10 November: RBI says payment systems such as NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer), RTGS (Real-time gross settlement systems) and cheque clearing will remain open on 12 and 13 November.
Notification No. 11
9 November: Cash withdrawal from a bank account over the counter shall be restricted to Rs 10,000 per day, subject to an overall limit of Rs 20,000 a week till 24 November 2016.
Notification No. 10
9 November: RBI issues a circular specifying that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes shall continue to be legal tender at specific places until 11 November 2016.
Notification No. 9
9 November: Banks to remain open for public on 12 November (Saturday) and 13 November (Sunday).
Notification No. 8
9 November: RBI asks banks to disable Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) and Cash Recyclers (CRs) for dispensing banned bank notes.
Notification No. 7
9 November: ATM withdrawal limit shall be raised to Rs 4,000 per day per card from 19 November 2016.
Notification No. 6
9 November: RBI sets withdrawal limit at Rs 2,000 per day per card up to 18 November 2016.
Notification No. 5
9 November: RBI asks banks to configure ATM Machines to dispense only Rs 100 and Rs 50 banknotes once the ATMs are re-opened.
Notification No. 4
9 November: RBI notifies that all ATMs, cash deposit machines, cash recyclers and any other machine used for receipt and payment of cash will remain shut till 11 November.
Notification No. 3
8 November: Government announces that majority of the ATMs will start functioning from 10 November.
Notification No. 2
8 November: Government announces CCTV monitoring of jewellery shops.
Notification No. 1
8 November: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces at 8 pm that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes are scrapped. You were told that you could exchange these for Rs 4,000 at bank branches.
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