Banks cannot refuse deposits of Pre-2005 notes: RBI

Mumbai:  Old currency notes printed before the year 2005 can be be deposited in banks and exchanged at RBI offices. Post demonetisation, some banks were reportedly refusing to accept these currency notes creating confusing among common public.

“Banks should accept deposits of pre-2005 bank notes in the denominations of ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 under the scheme. However, these notes can be exchanged at RBI Offices only”, RBI said in updated FAQ on demonetisation on Monday.

 RBI had stopped the exchange of pre-2005 notes in banks from July 2016. If anyone owned such notes he would need to approach one of the 20 offices of the Reserve Bank of India directly to get such notes exchanged. 

Post demonetisation announcement, there was confusion among public whether pre-2005 notes can be deposited or exchanged at all or not. When people reached banks to get them exchanged, little did they know that banks can only accept these currency notes in deposits, and not get exchanged.