Procedure for Determining the Fitness of Currency and Replacement of Worn Banknotes and Coins

"Registered" "Approved" By the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan By Resolution No. 93 of the Board of the National Bank of Tajikistan dated December 4, 2024 No. 421¹ dated February 4, 2025

Procedure for Determining the Fitness of Currency and Replacement of Worn Banknotes and Coins

1. The Procedure for Determining the Fitness of Currency and Replacement of Worn Banknotes and Coins (hereinafter referred to as this Procedure) is developed on the basis of Article 66 of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan "On the National Bank of Tajikistan" and establishes the procedure for determining the fitness of currency and the replacement of worn banknotes and coins.

2. Banknotes and coins of the National Bank of Tajikistan circulate freely and are fit for payment if they meet the following requirements:

1. they are in circulation as legal tender and cash payment within the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan, and have not been withdrawn from circulation;
2. they do not show signs of forgery or alteration;
3. their authenticity is not in doubt;
4. they do not show signs of weariness as specified in paragraph 3 of this Procedure.

3. Banknotes and coins of the National Bank of Tajikistan must not show signs of weariness of the following nature:

1. for banknotes:

• soiled and greasy, if the clarity of their security elements is not visible;
• worn, if it is obvious that the paint of the lines is worn off;
• creased, if they are not readable by a counting machine;
• having punctures and holes with a diameter of 5 mm or more, if this is the result of natural wear;
• tears of 10 mm or more in size;
• having stains from dyeing substances with a diameter of 10 mm or more;
• foreign inscriptions (words or numbers) consisting of two long signs or more, or three short signs or more (length 10 mm or more, width 30 mm or more);
• stamp impressions;
• lost corners, edges, including partially burnt, with a length of 5 mm or more, width of 5 mm or more;
• absence of security threads, if they hinder the determination of the authenticity of the banknote and indicate its redemption;

2. for coins:

• coins that have undergone change (worn, deformed, bent, cut, having punctures and holes, etched in chemical substances, damaged by fire), if images on the obverse and reverse are preserved;
• having signs of manufacturing defects.

4. Only banknotes with the following types of damage are accepted for payments and exchange by the National Bank of Tajikistan and credit financial organizations:

• a partially preserved banknote, constituting no less than 55 percent of the original area;
• banknotes having two extreme parts with identical serial numbers, if both parts together constitute no less than 55 percent of the original area;
• torn and glued from two halves of the same denomination, equal to 50 percent of the original area each, with identical or different serial numbers on both parts, if each fragment differs in graphic design (must necessarily have watermarks and fragments);
• composed of parts of a randomly torn banknote, with a coincidence of all elements and images, and belonging of glued parts to one banknote, as well as with the presence of more than 70 percent of the original area of the banknote;
• monetary banknotes "dirams", with preservation of no less than 55 percent of the original area;
• monetary banknotes "dirams", glued from two parts of no less than 45 percent of the original area;
• banknotes having obvious printing press defects (such as unprinted and distorted individual fragments, absence of images and protective background grids on the front or back sides);
• banknotes cut out by cutting tools and then glued, taking into account the correspondence of all elements and images, constituting no less than 90 percent of the original area.

5. The exchange of worn banknotes and coins specified in paragraph 3 and damaged banknotes specified in paragraph 4 of this Procedure is carried out by the National Bank of Tajikistan and credit financial organizations upon oral request of individuals and legal entities without restrictions and free of charge.

6. Banknotes and coins with the following damages are considered non-payable and are not subject to acceptance and exchange by the National Bank of Tajikistan and credit financial organizations:

1. intentionally cut out by cutting tools and glued from parts, with less than 90 percent of the original area of the banknote, or if the belonging of glued parts to one banknote is in doubt;
2. with even 100 percent of the original area of the banknote, cut out by cutting tools, if the volume and method of their cutting and gluing show signs of alteration (forgery) for the purpose of fraud;
3. coins on which their denomination, the State Emblem of the Republic of Tajikistan, and images of prominent figures are damaged beyond recognition.

7. To determine the remaining area of damaged worn banknotes, a special grid attached to this Procedure is used.

8. Worn and damaged banknotes are placed on the grid so that the preserved sides coincide with the grid boundaries. If neither side of the banknote is fully preserved, the two least worn and damaged sides of the banknote are aligned with the bottom and right boundaries of the grid. The worn and damaged banknote is outlined along the contour. The number of cells through which the contour line passes is summed and divided by two (for example: 32:2=16). To the resulting number (i.e., 16), the number of grid cells remaining closed when the banknote is overlaid is added (for example: 94+16=110). Banknotes are subject to exchange if the total number of cells obtained in this way is no less than 110. The size of the grid must correspond to the size of the denomination being examined.

9. The National Bank of Tajikistan and credit financial organizations are responsible for the proper quality of banknotes and coins in circulation and will no longer issue into circulation the banknotes and coins specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Procedure.

10. Credit financial organizations, in accordance with Appendix 1 to Instruction No. 227 "On Cash Operations in the National Bank of Tajikistan and Credit Financial Organizations," approved by Resolution No. 129 of the Board of the National Bank of Tajikistan dated September 29, 2017, and registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan on November 15, 2017, No. 531, must have appropriate technical devices for determining the weariness and authenticity of banknotes.

11. Banknotes and coins whose authenticity is in doubt are sent for examination to the Department of Currency Circulation and Cash Operations of the National Bank of Tajikistan.

Appendix to the Procedure for Determining the Fitness of Currency and Replacement of Worn Banknotes and Coins

Schedules for determining the payability of banknotes of the National Bank of Tajikistan

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a b c d e f g h i j

Note: 200 cells correspond to an area of 100 percent of the surface area of the banknote.