Will you be able to exchange, deposit Rs 2,000 notes in banks after new RBI deadline of Oct 7?

In its statement on September 30, RBI said the Rs 2,000 notes 'shall continue to be legal tender' even beyond October 7, but asked the public to deposit or exchange the notes 'without any further delay'.

The Reserve Bank of India on September 30 extended the special drive to withdraw Rs 2,000 bank notes from the system by another week, till October 7.

“…it has been decided to extend the current arrangement for deposit/exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes until October 07, 2023,” the central bank said in a statement.

In its statement on Saturday, RBI said the Rs 2,000 notes “shall continue to be legal tender” even beyond October 7, but asked the public to deposit or exchange the notes “without any further delay”.

Earlier, the deadline to deposit/exchange Rs 2,000 notes was September 30, 2023.

What will happen after October 7?

From October 8, the deposit/exchange facilities at bank branches will be stopped, and people will have to get them exchanged at 19 offices of RBI, the statement said, adding that “facility for deposit / exchange of ₹2000 banknotes at the 19 RBI Issue Offices shall be available till further advice.”

For exchange of the notes, a cap of Rs 20,000 per transaction has been imposed while there is none for the notes which are tendered at the RBI offices for crediting into bank accounts.

People within the country can also send Rs 2,000 notes through India Post, addressed to any of the 19 RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts in India, the statement said, specifying that such a transaction will be subject to regulation of the government and submission of documents.

However, in its release, the RBI said, "Courts, law enforcement agencies, government departments or any other public authority involved in investigation proceedings or enforcement, may, as and when required, deposit / exchange ₹2000 banknotes at any of the 19 RBI Issue Offices without any limit.”

In a surprise move, the central bank had announced withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes in May, but maintained that it was not akin to the demonetisation carried out in November 2016 when Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were made illegal tender overnight.

In May 2023, RBI said the higher denomination notes were introduced for a faster remonetisation of the economy and the move had served its purpose. Since it had stopped printing the notes from FY19, there were also concerns surrounding the quality of the notes in circulation.