HomeCirculars › RBI/2009-10/226

RTGS Rules for Government Receipts: Interim Arrangement

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2009-10/226 · issued 17 Nov 2009 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI mandates that RTGS-based government receipts require bilateral agreement between sending and receiving banks, using interbank mode R42, with full sender/receiver details. This interim fix addresses the lack of challan support in RTGS messages.

What changed

RBI observed non-uniform practices among banks accepting government receipts via RTGS. Since RTGS messages cannot carry challans, RBI now requires banks to bilaterally agree before originating such transfers and use interbank mode R42. This is an interim arrangement until a permanent solution is integrated with RTGS.

What it means for you

Banks must now formalize bilateral agreements for government receipt transactions via RTGS, ensuring only accredited banks handle such payments. The use of R42 mode and complete sender/receiver information reduces return rates and aligns with wire transfer guidelines. This adds operational coordination but streamlines government receipts.

Historical instruction — do not use for current compliance. This is what was required at the time; it no longer reflects current RBI requirements. If no replacement rule is linked above, that only means none is recorded on our register yet — it does not prove no later applicable rule exists. Confirm on the official RBI source below.

What banks were required to do at the time

Who it affects

All banks participating in RTGS, Accredited banks handling government receipts, Bank operations teams processing RTGS transactions

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

Why can't RTGS messages carry challans?

The RTGS platform is designed only for funds transfer messages, not for attached documents like challans. This interim arrangement uses bilateral agreements and R42 mode to bypass the missing challan issue.

What happens if a bank originates a government receipt RTGS without bilateral agreement?

Such transactions may be returned by the receiving bank, as they cannot credit the government account without a challan. The circular mandates prior agreement to avoid returns.

Is this a permanent change?

No, RBI states this is an interim arrangement until the procedure for government receipts is fine-tuned with the RTGS framework.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2009-10/226 DPSS (CO) RTGS No.991/04.04.002/2009 – 2010 November 17, 2009 Chairman and Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of all banks participating in RTGS Madam / Dear Sir, RTGS System - Government Receipts As you are aware, the Reserve Bank of India has taken a series of initiatives in the recent past to facilitate electronic mode of funds transfers as a result of which the volume processed in RTGS and NEFT systems have grown substantially. It is observed that of late, certain banks have been accepting receipts to Government accounts through RTGS. However, banks are not following a uniform practice while facilitating such transactions. On the basis of discussions with various major RTGS participant banks, it has been decided as under: As per the extant Government rules, only accredited banks are permitted to receive payments to Government and every credit to the Government account needs to be supported by a Challan. The RTGS message transfer platform is designed to carry only funds transfer messages and not challan. The receiving bank therefore is not in a position to afford credit to the Government account in the absence of the challan accompanying the message in RTGS. This often results in transactions getting returned. In order to facilitate Government receipts through RTGS it has been decided that participants originating Government transactions in RTGS can do so only when the receiving bank is in agreement with the sending bank to receive funds. In case it is bilaterally decided to undertake such a funds transfer in RTGS, banks have to use the interbank mode R 42 for such transfers. RTGS participants may please note that this is an interim arrangement and would continue till such time the procedure followed for Government receipts is fine tuned with RTGS frame work. The bank originating the transaction must capture complete information of the sender and receiver in the message format in conformity with Wire Transfer guidelines. The message may carry additional information if required by the receiving bank in field tag 7495. Please acknowledge receipt. Yours faithfully, (G. Padmanabhan) Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2009-10/226 · issued 17 Nov 2009. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=5374&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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