RBI/2016-17/164
DCM (Plg) No. 1459/10.27.00/2016-17

November 29, 2016

The Chairman / Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer,
(All banks maintaining currency chests)

Dear Sir,

Deposit of Specified Bank Notes (SBNs) – Chest Balance Limit / Cash Holding Limit

Please refer to our circular. DCM (CC) No. 2598/03.02.05/2009-10 dated October 27, 2009, which inter alia stated that the balance in a currency chest, exceeding the Chest Balance Limit / Cash Holding Limit  will be deemed to be bank’s own cash, not allowing for inter-chest fungibility.

2. In the wake of deposits of SBNs in massive quantity and accumulations thereof, the above instructions have been revisited and banks are advised as under:

1. SBNs deposited in the currency chests, since November 10, 2016 will be considered as part of the chest balance in the soiled note category but such deposits will not be reckoned for calculating Chest Balance Limit / Cash Holding Limit.

2. A review of the above will be taken up in the second fortnight of February 2017.

Yours faithfully,

(P Vijaya Kumar)
Chief General Manager