Four days after announcement of withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes from circulation, exchange of India’s highest denomination currency started at bank branches and regional offices of the RBI on Tuesday amid chaos and confusion over requirement of officially valid identity proof like PAN and Aadhaar.
Long queues were witnessed at several bank branches in the national capital as also in other parts of the country. The biggest confusion for customers remained the requirements for valid ID proof.
Some banks, especially private sector lenders like Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank insisted for ID proof for the exchange of currency.
Confusions also prevailed over the requirements for filling forms for deposits and exchange of the currency. Leading private sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank required all customers to fill forms. Public sector banks like Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, and UCO Bank asked non-bank customers to fill in requisition forms.
The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), however, allowed deposit and exchange of the currency without the need for filling in forms or providing ID proof.
Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes from circulation. The central bank has set a September 30 deadline for deposit or exchange of the currency.
Meanwhile, people also rushed to petrol pumps, wholesale markets, restaurants and liquor shops to pay their bills using the high value notes. A large number of customers reported difficulties in using Rs 2,000 notes for payments. Most businesses have started avoiding the acceptance of Rs 2,000 notes. Some, especially jewellers, have jacked up prices to benefit from the people’s panic over the future of the Rs 2,000 notes.
Kerala State Beverages Corporation, which runs liquor retail outlets across Kerala, decided not to accept Rs 2,000 notes. A senior official of the corporation told DH that there was considerable increase in Rs 2,000 notes being brought by customers after the RBI’s announcement of withdrawal of the currency from circulation.
Chaos was witnessed at petrol pumps in several parts of the country.
Federation of Gujarat Petroleum Dealers' Association issued a statement advising petrol pumps to accept Rs 2,000 notes from customers. The association has, however, suggested that petrol pump owners should seek identity proof as a precautionary measure.
A jeweller in Srinagar’s Hari Singh High Street Market, said some people came to buy gold coins using Rs 2,000 notes.
“There is a lot of surveillance going on in Kashmir. We don’t want to get involved in hassles. So we politely decline any customer who approaches us with more than Rs 50000 cash,” the jeweller, requesting not to be named.
(With input from Zulfikar Majid, Udbhavi Balakrishna, Satish Binod Jha, Arjun Raghunath, Mrityunjay Bose and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)