Relief/Savings Bonds - Rights of Customers - ఆర్బిఐ - Reserve Bank of India
Relief/Savings Bonds - Rights of Customers
RBI/2008-09/249 October 24, 2008 The General Manager Dear Sir, Relief/Savings Bonds – Rights of Customers Please refer to our Circular No RBI / 2004 / 181 (Ref No DGBA.CO.DT. No. 13.01.299 / H-6252./ 2003-04) dated April 22, 2004 wherein Agency Banks were advised to use a standardized application form for investment in Relief / Savings Bonds which contained, inter alia, duties and rights of the investors. 2. In this connection, we advise that the Bank had set up a Committee (Chairman: Shri H. Prabhakar Rao) to evaluate the efforts for improving public services to individuals undertaken by the Reserve Bank directly or through banks / institutions and to review existing policies and procedures with a view to their rationalisation. The Committee has, inter alia, recommended that the existing rights of the investors included in the standardised application form for Savings Bonds should be amplified to inform the investor of the maturity date, the right of the investor to transfer his account from one Agency Bank to another and the right to get savings bank account interest for delayed payments, etc. 3. The recommendations of the Committee have been accepted by the Reserve Bank and accordingly Agency Banks which are issuing and servicing the 8 % Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2003 should include the revised list of rights, as per Annex, in the application form. 4. Further, the Committee had observed that in case of most banks, especially the public sector banks, the entire work related to the issue and servicing of the bonds is conducted manually even while other areas of operation of the branches are computerised. With a view to reducing the possibilities of errors/delays resulting in inconvenience and loss to the investors, Agency Banks are advised to automate, if not done already, the processing work connected with servicing of savings bonds so as to ensure timely servicing of the bonds. 5. Furthermore, the Committee had also recommended that banks should actively make efforts to obtain the bank account details of the investors with a view to migrate to electronic servicing of interest and maturity proceeds of the Savings Bonds through ECS and NEFT. In this connection, attention is invited to our Circular No. DGBA.CDD. No. H- 3249/13.01.299/2007-08 dated September 24, 2007 wherein Agency Banks were advised to use, as far as possible, ECS/EFT facility for making payment of principal and interest, and that those Agency Banks who have not yet implemented ECS/EFT option, may implement the same at the earliest. We reiterate the said instruction and urge Agency Banks to make all out efforts to use electronic payment products (ECS/NEFT/RTGS) for making payments to the investors, wherever such facility is available. Yours faithfully, (Dr. Balu K.) RIGHTS OF THE INVESTOR
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