HomeCirculars › RBI/2013-14/166

RRBs Must End Discriminatory Intersol Charges: Damodaran Committee

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/166 · issued 31 Jul 2013 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI directs RRBs to stop charging different fees for same services at home vs non-home branches under CBS. Uniform pricing is now mandatory; cash handling charges are excluded from this rule.

What changed

RBI, referencing the Damodaran Committee recommendations and the May 2013 Monetary Policy Statement, has mandated that RRBs must not discriminate between home and non-home branches on intersol charges. If a service is free at the home branch, it must be free at all branches. Cash handling charges are explicitly excluded from intersol charges.

What it means for you

RRBs must now treat all customers equally across branches under CBS, eliminating the practice of charging extra for services at non-home branches. This levels the playing field for customers and reduces revenue from such fees for banks. Banks need to review and align their fee structures to ensure uniform pricing, which may impact profitability from intersol charges.

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

Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), RRB customers using CBS services across multiple branches, RRB branch managers and operations teams

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

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

What are intersol charges?

Intersol charges are fees levied by banks to cover the cost of providing services to customers through the Core Banking Solution (CBS) platform. They are meant to be branch-agnostic.

Does this circular apply to cash handling charges?

No, RBI has clarified that cash handling charges are not included under intersol charges and are not subject to this uniformity requirement.

What happens if my RRB currently charges different fees at home and non-home branches?

You must immediately align your fee structure to ensure the same service is priced identically at all branches. If a service is free at the home branch, it must be free everywhere.

📜 This document’s life story (1 recorded event, each backed by RBI’s own words)
Repealed by RBI/2025-26/100 — Consolidation of Regulations — Withdrawal of circulars (28 Nov 2025)
RBI’s words: “Official withdrawal register entry #1059: RPCD.RRB.BC.No.17/03.05.33/2013-14 — "Recommendations of Damodaran Committee on Customer Service in Banks - Uniformity in Intersol Charges" dated July 31, 201”
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2013-14/166 RPCD.RRB.BC.No.17/03.05.33/2013-14 July 31, 2013 All Regional Rural Banks Dear Sir/ Madam Recommendations of Damodaran Committee on Customer Service in Banks- Uniformity in Intersol Charges Please refer to announcement made in Monetary Policy Statement 2013-14 on May 3, 2013 on ‘Recommendations of Damodaran Committee- Uniformity in Intersol Charges’. 2. With the introduction of Core Banking Solution (CBS), it is expected that customers of RRBs would be treated uniformly at any sales or service delivery point. It is, however, observed that some RRBs are discriminating against their own customers on the basis of one branch being designated as the ‘home’ or ‘base’ branch where charges are not levied for products/ services and other branches of the same bank being referred to as ‘non-home’ branches where charges are levied for the same products/ services. The charges generally referred to as ‘Intersol’ charges, are also not uniform across home/non-home branches. As ‘Intersol’ charges are charges levied by the bank to cover the cost of extending services to customers by using the CBS platform, the cost should be branch/customer agnostic in- principle. It is clarified that cash handling charges may not be included under intersol charges. 3. In order to ensure that RRB customers are treated fairly and reasonably without any discrimination and in a transparent manner at all branches of RRBs/service delivery locations under CBS environment, RRBs are advised to follow a uniform, fair and transparent pricing policy and not discriminate between their customers at home branch and non-home branches. Accordingly, if a particular service is provided free at the home branch the same should be available free at the non home branches also. There should be no discrimination as regards intersol charges between similar transactions done by customers at home branch and those done at non-home branches. Yours faithfully, (A.Udgata) Principal Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/166 · issued 31 Jul 2013. 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=8281&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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