Centre to impose fine on old notes after December 30

New Delhi: The Central government is reportedly planning to issue a new ordinance to ban having more than Rs 10,000 of worth demonetised currency notes after December 30.

The order is expected to ban transferring or receiving the demonetised currency of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in excess of Rs 10,000. Any violation of this order is expected to be made a punishable offence.

According to reports, the government is looking at imposing a fine that could range from a minimum of '50,000 to fives times the amount seized — whichever is higher. However, these penal provisions are still being worked on. A municipal magistrate will adjudicate such cases.

While banning the high value notes on November 8, the government had announced that people can deposit their old notes in their accounts till December 30 and in RBI offices thereafter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday defended frequent changes in the demonetisation rules saying that “the government was sensitive to the problems of the people and was acting on the feedback on their hardships”.

A blanket ban on having old notes could run in the face of this announcement  and may draw flak from people again.

Sources claim that the government may some mechanism which allows people, who could not deposit their old notes for genuine reasons, may not suffer because of this ordinance.

Some experts believe that the proposed ordinance to ban the possession of old notes is likely to force people declare illegal money under the amnesty scheme.

The government has recently come out with a new amnesty scheme for black money, which allows people having unaccounted money to legitimise their hoard by paying a 50 per cent tax.

This scheme was announced after many people who were having black money, started employing different ingenious methods to get their old notes converted into the new currency. Though this may not legitimise their money,  it got some relief in the form of new currency.

Under the  ‘Taxation and Investment Regime for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016 (PMGKY)’, people who voluntarily declare their black money in cash and bank deposits will have to pay a 50 per cent in taxes (tax, surcharge and penalty) and 25 per cent of the total income declared will be locked off for four years. The money will be locked off in interest free deposit scheme for four years to be notified by the RBI under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 2016’.