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If you are in possession of soiled or mutilated Rs 200, Rs 2000 notes, there are chances that you will not be able to exchange them over the counter in bank branches, due to the lack of the requisite exchange rules not being amended so far. There are many reasons why a currency note gets soiled or disfigured, ranging from excessive handling to getting torn/wet and nibbled on by white ants. But while the RBI has made provisions for the value of such notes to be refunded to the owner, either in full or as a matter of grace depending on the state of the note, two of the newest Rs 200 and Rs 2000 denomination notes are conspicuously absent from the list.
Rs 2,000 notes were issued soon after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes was announced on November 8, 2016. Rs 200 notes were launched in August 2017. There are about Rs 6.70 lakh crore of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation and the Reserve Bank of India has stopped printing fresh ones, economic affairs secretary Subhash C Garg stated on April 17.
In the meantime, you better handle your Rs 200 and Rs 2000 notes with care. Do not accept Rs 200 and Rs 2000 mutilated/ written/ torn/ wet/ nibbled notes from others. Soiled currency notes of the other denominations can be exchanged for full value at any commercial bank branch while mutilated notes can be tendered at Reserve Bank of India Offices/designated bank branches. According to a circular issued by the central bank, you can also choose to send mutilated notes by post for adjudication to the nearest Issue Office of Reserve Bank of India. Do note, however, that banknotes that are less than half the area of the full note or counterfeit or those that have been deliberately cut/tampered with are not eligible.
The Note Refund Rules describes a soiled note as one which has become dirty due to usage and also includes a two-piece note pasted together wherein both the pieces presented belong to the same note and form the entire note.
