The NBFCs accepting public deposits shall furnish to RBI Certificate from the Auditors regarding solvency of the company in repayment of the deposits as and when the claims arise; Balance Sheet and the Auditors’ Reports submitted to the Board of Directors as also to the Shareholders of the company; Statutory Annual Return on deposits in the First Schedule; Quarterly Return on liquid assets; Half-yearly Return on prudential norms; and a copy of the Credit Rating once a year alongwith one of the Half-yearly Returns on prudential norms as at (v) above.

No.

Yes, nomination facility is available to the depositors of NBFCs. The Rules for nomination facility are provided for in section 45QB of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Non-Banking Financial Companies have been advised to adopt the Banking Companies (Nomination) Rules, 1985 made under Section 45ZA of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Accordingly, depositor/s of NBFCs are permitted to nominate one person to whom the NBFC can return the deposit in the event of the death of the depositor/s. NBFCs are advised to accept nominations made by the depositors in the form similar to one specified under the said rules, viz Form DA 1 for the purpose of nomination, and Form DA2 and DA3 for cancellation of nomination and change of nomination respectively.

Ans: Yes, company which is a CIC and has achieved the balance sheet size of Rs.100 crore as per its last audited annual financial statement is required to apply to the Bank for registration as a CIC-SI, subject to its meeting the other conditions for being identified as systemically important CIC.

NBFCs that ought to have sought registration from RBI but are functioning without doing so are committing a breach of law. Such companies are liable for action as envisaged under the RBI Act, 1934. To identify such entities, RBI has multiple sources of information. These include market intelligence, complaints received from affected parties, industry sources, and exception reports submitted by statutory auditors in terms of Non-Banking Financial Companies Auditor’s Report (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2008. Further, the State Level Co-ordination Committees (SLCC) is convened by RBI in all the States/UTs on quarterly basis. The SLCC is now chaired by the Chief Secretary/ Administrator of the concerned State/UT and has, as its members, apart from the Reserve Bank, the Regional Directorate of the MCA/ ROC, local unit of SEBI, NHB, Registrar of Chits, ICAI, Economic Intelligence Unit of the State Police and officials from Law and Home Ministries of the State Government. As all the relevant financial sector regulators and enforcement agencies participate in the SLCC, it is possible to quickly share the information and agree on an effective course of action to be taken against entities indulging in unauthorized and suspect businesses involving funds mobilization from public.

Banks can purchase letter of allotment in respect of PSU bonds subject to the following conditions.

1. The transactions (other than interbank transactions) should be undertaken only through recognized Stock Exchanges and registered brokers.

2. While purchasing the bonds, the bank should ensure that it gets a clear title to the security and the security is tradable in the secondary market.

3. The bank should prescribe its internal guidelines with the approval of the Board for undertaking such transaction.

No. However, the securities purchased will reflect in the holdings statement in your Retail Direct account.

Counterfeiting banknotes/using as genuine, forged or counterfeit banknotes/possession of forged or counterfeit banknote/making or possessing instruments or materials for forging or counterfeiting banknotes/making or using documents resembling banknotes are offences under Sections 489A to 489E of the Indian Penal Code and are punishable in the Courts of Law by fine or imprisonment ranging from seven years to life imprisonment or both, depending on the offence.

The Government of India has framed Investigation of High Quality Counterfeit Indian Currency Offences Rules, 2013 under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. The Third Schedule of the Act defines High Quality Counterfeit Indian Currency Note. Activity of production, smuggling or circulation of High Quality Counterfeit Indian Notes has been brought under the ambit of UAPA, 1967.

Answer: For the transactions undertaken on or after November 7, 2017, in case of reporting delays, the person/ entity responsible for filing the reports as provided in Part IV of the Master Direction on Reporting shall be liable for payment of Late Submission Fee (LSF). The payment of LSF is an additional option for regularising reporting delays without undergoing the compounding procedure.

The NBFCs except RNBCs not accepting/holding public deposits are not required to submit to RBI their Statutory Returns in the First Schedule or the Balance Sheet or the Quarterly Liquid Asset Return or the Half-yearly Prudential Norm Return. However, all the NBFCs (other than those exempted - see answer to question No. 1) are required to be Registered with RBI and and also make sure that they continue to be eligible to remain Registered. RBI has powers to cause Inspection of the Books of any company and call for any other information about its business activities. For this purpose, the NBFCs are required to furnish the information in respect of any change in the composition of their Board of Directors, address of the company and its Directors and the name/s of its Auditors.

AD banks can issue SBLC on behalf of their customers for availing short term trade credit from overseas lenders in foreign currency subject to such SBLCs complying with the provisions contained in Department of Banking Regulation Master Circular No. DBR. No. Dir. BC.11/13.03.00/2015-16 dated July 1, 2015 on “Guarantees and Co-acceptances”, as amended from time to time.

AD banks are required to report all permissions granted by the AD banks/Regional offices of Reserve Bank for settlement of delayed import dues irrespective of the tenures of extension sought.

Shares/ debentures/ bonds accepted by banks as security for loans/ advances should be valued at the prevailing market prices.

The securities will be held in a Gilt account with RBI.

Mere possession of a forged note does not attract punishment. Possession of any forged or counterfeit banknotes, knowing or having reason to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit and intending to use the same as genuine or that it may be used as genuine, is punishable under Section 489C of Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Answer: The payment of LSF is an additional facility for regularising reporting delays without undergoing the compounding procedure. However, this does not mean that the applicant cannot apply for compounding. Both options are available to the applicant for the transactions undertaken on or after November 7, 2017.

There had been instances when some companies had not paid matured deposits on due dates and such claims have been honoured after some delay. The companies did not pay any interest for the delayed period in the absence of any specific provisions in the Reserve Bank Directions in this regard in the past. A provision has, therefore, been inserted subsequently in the Non-Banking Financial Companies Acceptance of Public Deposits (Reserve Bank) Directions dated 31.1.1998 to the effect that interest is payable to the depositors only in case the company has delayed the repayment of matured deposits, from the date of receipt of such claim by the company or the date of maturity of the deposit whichever is later, till the date of actual payment. If the depositor has lodged his claim after the date of maturity, the company would be liable to pay interest for the period from the date of claim till the date of repayment. In other words, for the period between the date of maturity and the date of claim it is the discretion of the company to pay interest.

No. Proprietorship and partnership concerns are un-incorporated bodies. Hence they are prohibited under the RBI Act 1934 from accepting public deposits.

CSGL, i.e., Constituents' Subsidiary General Ledger account, means a securities account opened and maintained with RBI by an agent on behalf of the constituents of such agent, i.e., an account opened by an agent with the RBI to hold the securities on behalf of their constituents. The constituents are known as the Gilt Account Holders (GAHs).

Yes. Banks can sanction bridge loans to companies for a period not exceeding one year against the expected equity flows/ issues as also the expected proceeds of non-convertible Debentures, External Commercial Borrowings, Global Depository Receipts and/ or funds in the nature of Foreign Direct Investments, provided the bank is satisfied that the borrowing company has made firm arrangements for raising the aforesaid resources/ funds. Bridge loans extended by a bank will be included within the 5% ceiling prescribed for banks’ exposure to capital market.