Customs declaration at airport must for NRIs with banned notes

Passengers arriving with demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here and other Indian airports from foreign destinations will have to submit a Customs declaration form from March 31 to June 30.

On arrival at the airports, both Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and resident Indians holding the notes should submit the filled up declaration forms to the Customs officers on duty. After examination and tallying of the notes, termed Specified Bank Notes (SBN), the officers will affix the Customs stamp.

The stamped forms could be submitted to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for exchange, Harsh Vardhan Umre, Joint Commissioner of Customs, KIA said in an official release.

Although the notes were demonetised on November 8, 2016 the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance) Ordinance, 2016 provides an opportunity to those persons who were unable to deposit the SBNs within the time provided. The deadline to tender the SBNs was fixed as March 31 for residents and June 30 for NRIs.

However, as the release said, this facility is subject to the Foreign Exchange Management (Export & Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015. This regulation restricts bringing back such currency into the country to Rs 25,000 per person. Passengers travelling from Bhutan and Nepal are not permitted to carry SBNs.