NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Banks in Goa have claimed to be ready to serve customers waiting to swap their scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes for legal tender. A rush of customers is expected at bank branches on Thursday, and bank officials said that they are prepared for it.
However, it is doubtful whether additional counters will be set up to address the rush as bankers have given no assurance on the same.
Customers will have to fill a form before exchanging old notes. Further they will also have to get their PAN and Aadhar cards as proof of identity or other applicable documents. There are about five to six optional documents permitted by banks. In all likelihood, customers will not be able to send their representatives or deputies to collect the money as banks will insist on physical presence.
All nationalised as well as private banks said that they will be open for business on Thursday although ATM kiosks will start only on Friday. An official from HDFC Bank said that customers can exchange notes in whichever bank and they need not be account holders of that particular bank.
Till late in the evening, bank heads in Goa were caught up in a meeting called by State Bank of India, lead bank to discuss preparatory measures for the customer rush. To facilitate smooth transaction, banks across India will remain open for public on Saturday (November 12) and Sunday (November 13), as per the Reserve Bank of India directive. Banks took a day closure on November 9, after the Prime Minister demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and declared them invalid on November 8.
To get rid of their old notes, a customer can either deposit the amount in one-go depending on the KYC compliance with the bank. If the KYC is complete, there is no limit on the quantity and value of older notes that you can put into your account. However, in accounts where the compliance with KYC norms is incomplete, a maximum of Rs 50,000 can be deposited.
On the flip side the income-tax department is keeping track of banking transactions happening from November 10. All deposits above Rs 2.5 lakh are being tracked by banks as well as the IT officials. Individuals with a proper and valid reason to explain the transactions need not worry but accounts that have witnessed huge cash deposits and are not in sync with previous banking transactions, will attract the attention of the I-T Department.
Unofficially bankers said that it will take at least 10 days for the situation to normalise and the small denomination currency shortage to reduce.