If you come into possession of a fake currency note inadvertently, don't be afraid to report it.No more will you face the threat of a police case or be treated with suspicion, thanks to new norms of the Reserve Bank of India.
As per the existing norms, banks are required to file a first information report (FIR) immediately upon detection of a fake note.However, hesitation among customers as well as bank officials in taking the matter to police has led to under-reporting of the detection of fake notes.To address this, the apex bank now has instructed banks that there is no need to register a case with police unless five or more pieces of fake notes are detected in a single transaction.
In all other cases where one or up to four fake notes are detected, a consolidated report can be sent to the police at the end of every month, the RBI said.
This decision was taken on the recommendations of the High Level Group on Systems and Procedures for Currency Distribution Chaired by Usha Thorat, former Deputy Governor, RBI.From the police perspective, there are still some more gaps to address. Amit Garg, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes), Hyderabad, said a compliant should be scientific.I have recently suggested to some banks that they should segregate huge amounts deposited by different customers with some kind of identification. This helps proper mapping of source and region while we investigate,'' he said.There is a greater need for banks and people to come forward with complaints if fake notes are detected, he added.
The RBI Governor, D.Subbarao, while addressing the press during the policy review, agreed that there was under-reporting of the matter.Pointing out that detecting counterfeit notes was the responsibility of both the central bank as well as commercial banks, he said: “The reporting was skewed because we found that only one or two banks were reporting counterfeit notes. The others were probably not paying enough attention.”
He said that the RBI was in discussion with banks on the subject. As a first step, at least 20 per cent of frontline staff – both officers and clerks – would be trained in the detection and reporting of fake notes during 2012.According to the RBI, 45,235 pieces of counterfeit notes were detected by it, while 3,90,372 pieces were detected by various commercial banks in 2010-11.