From October 1, Rs 2000 denomination banknotes will cease to have their value and will be just another piece of paper. RBI in its guidelines has stated September 30 as the last date for returning or exchanging of these banknotes.
It was however anticipated that the central bank would increase the deadline further, but nothing was heard from the bank on the same.
Rs 2000 banknotes will remain legal tender even after the September 30 deadline, however, they will not be accepted for transactions. The notes can only be exchanged with the RBI.
As of September 30, a non-account holder was also eligible to exchange the banknotes up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank branch.
It is likely that on October 1, the RBI will provide an update, which may clarify the fate of the remaining Rs 2,000 notes still in circulation.
RBI hasn’t declared that these notes will be invalid post the Septmber 30 deadline indicating that it intends to phase the out as part of its clean note policy.
It is anticipated that post the deadline, the banknotes can be submitted to the Regional Offices of the RBI or the designated banks with some due procedure. However, nothing official has been shared by the RBI as of now.
On May 19, 2023, RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 banknotes and said they continue to remain as legal tender.
It had advised the masses to deposit Rs 2000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch.
On September 1, the RBI reported the total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes received back from circulation is Rs 3.32 lakh crore up to August 31, 2023.
As of August 31, 2023, only Rs 0.24 lakh crore worth of Rs 2,000 banknotes were in circulation.