Regulatory Alerts2026-06-09
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Withdrawal of old series of banknotes issued prior to 2005: Consolidation of instructions
The Reserve Bank of India consolidates instructions regarding the withdrawal of pre-2005 banknote series, confirming that these notes remain legal tender except where status was withdrawn by Government of India Notification no. 2652 dated November 8, 2016. From July 01, 2016, exchange facilities for these notes are restricted exclusively to 19 specified RBI Issue Offices. Banks are required to ensure that pre-2005 series notes are not re-issued through ATMs or over-the-counter transactions, and must instead sort and deposit such notes in currency chests under the Linkage Scheme or forward them to the nearest RBI Issue Office for disposal.
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( 164 kb ) Withdrawal of old series of banknotes issued prior to 2005: Consolidation of instructions
RBI/2026-27/108 DCM(Plg) No.S737/10.02.060/2026-27
June 09, 2026
The Chairman / Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer All Banks
Madam/ Dear Sir,
Withdrawal of old series of banknotes issued prior to 2005: Consolidation of instructions
The Reserve Bank of India follows a policy of phasing out certain series of banknotes from time to time with a view to introduce banknotes with upgraded security features, in alignment with standard international practice of withdrawing old series banknotes. Accordingly, it was decided on January 23, 2014 that all old series of banknotes issued prior to 2005 would be completely withdrawn from circulation, and banks were advised to extend all necessary cooperation to the members of public for the withdrawal exercise to be carried out in a smooth and non-disruptive manner.
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Based on a review, it was decided that from July 01, 2016, the facility of exchanging the pre-2005 banknotes would be available only at the 19 RBI Issue Offices 1 .
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As advised at Paragraph 3 of the circular dated January 23, 2014 , banks shall continue to ensure that pre-2005 series banknotes are not re-issued through ATMs or over-the-counter transactions. Such notes shall be sorted and deposited in currency chests under the Linkage Scheme or forwarded to the nearest RBI Issue Office for disposal.
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Pre-2005 series banknotes (other than those whose legal tender status was withdrawn vide Government of India Notification no. 2652 dated November 8, 2016 ) continue to be legal tender.
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This consolidates the instructions issued earlier on the subject, as detailed hereunder 2
Yours faithfully
(Sanjeev Prakash) Chief General Manager-In-Charge
1 Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram
2 Related Notifications:
SL.
Subject
Circular No.
Date
Withdrawn/ In vogue/ Partially applicable
1
Withdrawal of All Old Series of Banknotes issued Prior to 2005
DCM(Plg).No.G-17/3231/10.27.00/2013-14
January 23, 2014
Partially applicable
2
Withdrawal of All Old Series of Banknotes issued Prior to 2005
DCM.(Plg).No.G-19/3880/10.27.00/2013-14
March 03, 2014
Withdrawn
3
Withdrawal of All Old Series of Banknotes issued Prior to 2005
DCM(Plg).No.G-8/3004/10.27.00/2014-15
December 31, 2014
Withdrawn
4
Withdrawal of All Old Series of Banknotes issued Prior to 2005
DCM(Plg).No.G-15/5486/10.27.00/2014-15
June 26, 2015
Withdrawn
5
Withdrawal of All Old Series of Banknotes issued Prior to 2005
DCM (Plg)No.G-8/2331/10.27.00/2015-16
December 23, 2015
Withdrawn
6
Withdrawal of All Old Series of Banknotes issued Prior to 2005
DCM(Plg)No.G-9/2856/10.27.00/2015-16
February 11, 2016
Withdrawn
7
Pre-2005 series of Banknotes - Revision of exchange facility
DCM (Plg) No.G-12/4297/10.27.00/2015-16
June 30, 2016
In vogue
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