Ahead Of Financial Year Closing Offices Dealing With Govt Business To Remain Open on March 30, 31: RBI

Additionally, the reporting window for central and state government transactions to the RBI will be extended until 1200 hours on April 1, 2024

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that its offices handling government business and designated branches of agency banks will remain open during normal working hours on both Saturday and Sunday, a move aimed at providing convenience to taxpayers. The decision comes as part of special measures taken for the current financial year (2023-24) due to the annual closing of government accounts. The central bank stated that electronic transactions can be conducted until the stipulated time on March 30 and March 31.

"The Government of India has made a request to keep all branches of the banks dealing with Government receipts and payments open for transactions on March 31, 2024 (Sunday) so as to account for all the Government transactions relating to receipts and payments in the FY2023-24 itself," the RBI said in a statement.

Transactions through the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System will continue until 2400 hours on March 31, 2024, to facilitate greater convenience for taxpayers.

Furthermore, special clearing operations will be conducted across the country to facilitate government receipts and payments. The RBI pointed out that special clearing for government cheques will take place on both March 30 and 31, 2024. Agency banks have been instructed to present all cheques related to government accounts during these clearings.

Additionally, the reporting window for central and state government transactions to the RBI will be extended until 1200 hours on April 1, 2024.

This extension of working hours and special arrangements aim to streamline financial transactions and accommodate the needs of taxpayers as the financial year draws to a close.

Meanwhile, in March, banks are slated to be closed for a collective span of 14 days owing to national and regional holidays. These holidays are determined by region-specific festivities as well as standard weekend closures, which are observed uniformly across all banks nationwide. The bank closures encompass a range of occasions including festivals, national holidays, the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, as well as all Sundays.