AMN /
RBI has asked banks to examine the authenticity of banknotes tendered over the counter through machines. It is part of an effort to minimise the circulation of fake currency.
In case, it is detected as a fake, the banknote should be stamped as “counterfeit note” and impounded and the entry be marked in a separate register.
In a notification issued from Mumbai, RBI has asked banks to follow the same procedure for banknotes received in bulk at back office or currency chest through bulk tenders. These instructions have come into effect immediately.
RBI has further asked banks to issue an acknowledgment receipt to the tenderer after stamping the note as counterfeit; adding that receipt is to be issued even in cases where the tenderer is unwilling to countersign it.
RBI has said that no credit should be given for counterfeit notes and asked banks to prominently display this notice at its offices/ branches for information of the public.
RBI has also said that it has the instructions on compensation to banks at 25 per cent of the notional value of counterfeit notes detected.
The apex bank has said that it will impose a penalty at 100 per cent of the notional value of counterfeit notes, in addition to the recovery of loss to the extent of the notional value of such notes when counterfeit notes are detected in soiled note remittance of the bank and if counterfeit notes are detected in currency chest balance of a bank during inspection/ audit.