Non-resident and resident Indians who were outside the country from November 8 to December 30, 2016 and want to deposit scrapped notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 must have a stamped document from the airport to prove that they were abroad during the period.
According to a notice pasted outside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it is mandatory for people willing to deposit demonetised notes to get a stamped document from the airport authorities.
While the 50-day window for such deposits at banks or post offices ended on December 30, the government has offered a grace period for those who were abroad.
The window for Indian nationals who were travelling abroad is till March 31 and for NRIs, it is June 30, 2017.
Earlier, a Finance Ministry said that anyone bringing junked notes in country must show it to Customs officials at the airport and get declaration form stamped.
The declaration will have to be submitted at specified branches of the Reserve Bank while depositing the junked currency.
This facility, however, is “subject to the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015. As per these regulations, bringing back such currency into the country is restricted to Rs. 25,000 per person“.
Those returning from Nepal and Bhutan are not permitted to carry specified bank notes (SBNs) of old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.
A one-page form has been worked out for the purpose.
Since the form to be filled in by the passenger bearing the Customs stamp will be crucial in subsequently facilitating the deposit of SBNs at the specified issue offices of RBI, the finance ministry asked the Customs formations to keep a copy of the same, preferably in a scanned format.
The ministry said since it is a facilitation step to enable resident and non-resident Indians to deposit SBNs when they arrive in India, measures should be taken to make passengers and airlines aware of the new dispensation.
“While discharging the above task, care may be taken that due courtesy is extended to the declarants and that no unnecessary inconvenience is caused,” it said.
The government had declared 500 and 1,000 denomination bank notes as illegal tender from November 9, 2016.
