Demonetisation: NRIs can deposit old notes till 30 June 2017, but need to declare the same at Bengaluru airport

New Delhi: There is a good news for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that now they deposit demonetised notes of Rupees 500 and 1000 till 30 June 2017.

The MEA, on Friday, further announced that all Indian citizens who were outside India from 9th November 2016 to 30th December 2016 can also tender the old notes at the specified Issue Offices of RBI until 31 March 2017. "Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance, Government of India through a gazette notification S.O. 4251(E) dated 30 December 2016, in exercise of the powers conferred by relevant provisions of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance 2016, has announced that this facility would be available to all Indian citizens who were outside India from 9 November 2016 to 30 December 2016, to tender these SBNs at the specified Issue Offices of RBI until 31 March 2017. For those citizens of India, who are not resident in India, this facility would be available till 30th June 2017 in order to allow them adequate time to plan a visit as per their convenience," the statement read. The above facility would be subject to the regulations of the notification "Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015. According to these regulations bringing back such currency into the country is restricted to Rs. 25,000/- per person. Separate FEMA provisions are applicable to persons in Nepal and Bhutan which would continue to apply.

NRIs need to declare demonetised notes at airport:

NRIs coming for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in Bengaluru from Saturday and resident Indians returning from abroad need to declare at the airport on arrival the number of demonetised Rs 500 and 1,000 notes they are carrying, said a Customs official on Friday. "The government has given six-month grace period from January 1 to June 30 to NRIs and three months (up to March 31) to resident Indians for submitting in a prescribed form the demonetised notes in their possession," Customs Joint Commissioner Harsh Vardhan said in a statement here. Though the high-value currency has ceased to be a legal tender from November 9, the government had allowed all citizens to deposit them in banks or exchange them for new notes for 50 days till December 30. "NRIs coming to India and Indians returning from abroad have, however, been given an opportunity to surrender the banned notes if they did not deposit them till earlier," said the official. As the Ordinance on demonetisation was issued on December 30 with penalties on those holding these notes, the holders have to declare holding, transferring or receiving them to avoid penalty after three or six months, as is the case. "NRIs and resident Indians can bring back the banned notes up to Rs 25,000 each as per the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of currency) Regulations," said the statement. The declaration at the airport will enable the holders to deposit the banned notes at designated RBI offices with the Customs-stamped form to exchange or remit an equivalent amount in their respective bank accounts. The Customs office has made special arrangements at the airport with additional staff to enable the Indian diaspora comply with the regulation.

2016 Indian banknote demonetisation:

The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes was a policy enacted by the Government of India on 8 November 2016, ceasing the usage of all ₹500 (US$7.40) and ₹1,000 (US$15) banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series as legal tender in India from 9 November 2016.