What changed
RBI has extended the permissible period for manual remittance of government receipts from specified remote, difficult, and hill area branches to T+12 working days (excluding the put-through date). This applies to branches in Jammu & Kashmir, Leh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, the North Eastern Region, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. The earlier timeline was shorter, and this change follows a CGA committee review.
What it means for you
Banks in these challenging terrains get a longer window to transfer government collections to the central exchequer, reducing compliance pressure and logistical strain. However, this relaxation does not apply to popular deposit schemes like PPF and SCSS, which must follow existing timelines. Lenders should update their internal processes to reflect the new T+12 norm for these specific branches.
What you must do
- Update branch operating instructions for remote, difficult, and hill areas to allow T+12 working days for manual remittance of government receipts.
- Ensure that branches in the specified states and regions (J&K, Leh, Uttarakhand, Himachal, Sikkim, NER, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh) are aware of the new timeline effective January 1, 2010.
- Exclude remittances under PPF, SCSS, and similar Ministry of Finance deposit schemes from this relaxation and continue to process them under existing norms.
- Monitor compliance to ensure all government revenue remittances from these branches are completed within the T+12 window.
Who it affects
Public sector banks with branches in Jammu & Kashmir, Leh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, North Eastern Region, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh, Branch managers and treasury teams handling government revenue remittances, Compliance and operations departments of PSBs
What does T+12 working days mean in this context?
T is the day when money is available to the branch. The branch then has 12 working days (excluding the put-through date) to remit the funds to CAS, RBI, Nagpur.
Does this relaxation apply to all government receipts?
No, it applies only to manual remittance of government revenues from specified remote, difficult, and hill areas. It does not cover remittances under deposit schemes like PPF and SCSS.
Which states and regions are covered under this circular?
The covered areas are Jammu & Kashmir, Leh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, the North Eastern Region (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura), Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh.