 "RBI displays the newly issued rupees 500 and 2000 notes at Reserve Bank of India headquarters in Mumbai")
As the country goes through the pain of exchanging old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes after withdrawal of legal tender status of those notes on 8 Nov, 2016, another question that has so far remained unanswered is what if the new Rs 500 or Rs 2,000 notes get soiled or mutilated?
As per RBI rules (first notified in 2009 and amended in July 2016), soiled, mutilated or imperfect notes can be exchanged at RBI offices or commercial banks. Soiled notes can be exchanged at any bank branch even if one does not have an account at the branch and mutilated notes can be exchanged at designated branches or RBI offices.
Which notes can you exchange?
An individual can get any banknote of Rs 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 exchanged if it is soiled, mutilated or imperfect.
The old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 could also be exchanged in the past however, since Nov 8, these notes have ceased to be legal tender and can only be deposited in one’s bank account and then new currency notes can be withdrawn.
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Will I get a full value refund?
As per RBI note refund rules, value of refund is guided by the size of the note that is submitted for refund. The rules specify the measurements of each note and also mention the threshold size above which a full refund will be provided.
For example the size of the Rs 10 note is 86 cm and if a person takes a cut or mutilated Rs 10 note for exchange then it has to be at least 44 cm in size for a full refund. Similar specifications exist for other denominations to.
In case of notes of Rs 50 and above there are two thresholds. These two thresholds dictate whether one would get a full refund or a half refund.
What about imperfect notes?
Imperfect notes (where printing might have become totally illegible) can also be exchanged similarly and same size guidelines will be applicable.
What about exchanging soiled new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes?
The RBI guidelines mention the specific size of each denomination note that can be exchanged. These guidelines have not been updated to include the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes yet. As per a report in The Hindu, RBI has directed banks and its own offices not to accept any soiled, new Rs 500 or Rs 2,000 notes for exchange. These directions were given after a regional office accepted soiled notes of Rs 2,000 and then destroyed them as per old procedure, reports the paper.
There have been reports about two variants of the Rs 500 being in circulation. RBI spokesperson said, both variants are perfectly legitimate currency and can be accepted freely.
As new guidelines have not been issued to exchange or refund these notes if they get soiled or mutilated, those holding such notes need to wait for RBI to come out with new guidelines for the exchange.
