FY24 Year-End: Govt Account Closing Rules for Agency Banks
Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2023-24/138 · issued 22 Mar 2024 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI mandates all government transactions for FY 2023-24 be booked by March 31, 2024. Agency banks must keep branches open March 30-31, extend NEFT/RTGS till midnight, run special cheque clearing, and report transactions by noon April 1.
The rule, in the simplest words
Keep designated branches open for over-the-counter government transactions during normal hours on March 30 and 31.
Ensure NEFT and RTGS systems are available for government transactions until midnight on March 31.
Participate in special clearing for government cheques on March 30 and 31, and present all government cheques accordingly.
Upload all Central and State Government transaction files by noon on April 1, 2024.
How it plays out — a real example
As an agency-banking (government business) officer in Indore, I need to ensure that all government transactions are accounted for within the same financial year. On March 30 and 31, I will keep our designated branch open for over-the-counter government transactions and ensure that our NEFT and RTGS systems are available until midnight. I will also participate in the special clearing for government cheques and upload all Central and State Government transaction files by noon on April 1, 2024, to avoid reconciliation issues.
What changed
RBI issued specific year-end instructions for agency banks to ensure all central and state government transactions for FY 2023-24 are accounted within the same financial year. Branches must remain open for over-the-counter government transactions on March 30 and 31, 2024, during normal hours. Special clearing for government cheques will be conducted on both days, and the reporting window for uploading GST/TIN 2.0/ICEGATE/e-receipts files is extended to 1200 hours on April 1, 2024.
What it means for you
Agency banks must ensure their designated branches are staffed and operational on March 30-31 to handle government transactions, including cash and cheque deposits. The extended NEFT/RTGS window until midnight on March 31 allows for last-minute digital payments. Banks need to coordinate with clearing houses for special cheque clearing sessions and ensure timely upload of government transaction data to RBI by the April 1 noon deadline to avoid reconciliation issues.
What you must do
Keep designated branches open for over-the-counter government transactions during normal hours on March 30 and 31, 2024.
Ensure NEFT and RTGS systems are available for government transactions until 2400 hours on March 31.
Participate in special clearing for government cheques on March 30 and 31; present all government cheques accordingly.
Upload all Central and State Government transaction files (GST, TIN 2.0, ICEGATE, e-receipts) by 1200 hours on April 1, 2024.
Give adequate publicity to these special arrangements for customers and branches.
Who it affects
All agency banks handling government transactions, Designated branches of agency banks, Clearing houses processing government cheques, Government departments and treasuries
❓ Common questions
What are the branch timings for government transactions on March 30 and 31?
Branches must remain open for over-the-counter government transactions during normal working hours on both days.
Until when can we process NEFT/RTGS for government transactions on March 31?
NEFT and RTGS systems will be available for government transactions until 2400 hours (midnight) on March 31, 2024.
What is the deadline for reporting government transactions to RBI?
The reporting window for uploading GST, TIN 2.0, ICEGATE, and e-receipts files is open until 1200 hours noon on April 1, 2024.
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2023-24/138
CO.DGBA.GBD.No.S1252/42-01-029/2023-2024
March 22, 2024
All Agency Banks
Madam/Dear Sir,
Annual Closing of Government Accounts – Transactions of Central / State Governments – Special Measures for the Current Financial Year (2023-24)
All Government transactions done by agency banks for the Financial Year 2023-24 must be accounted for within the same financial year. Accordingly, the following arrangements are put in place to report and account for Government transactions for March 31, 2024.
2. All Agency banks should keep their designated branches open for over the counter transactions related to government transactions upto the normal working hours on March 30 and March 31, 2024.
3. Transactions through National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System will continue upto 2400 hours as hitherto on March 31, 2024.
4. Special clearing will be conducted for Government cheques both on March 30 & 31, 2024. Agency Banks are hereby advised that all cheques related to Government accounts may be presented on such clearing. The timing for presentation and return clearing of instruments for these special clearing sessions for government cheques will be intimated in due course.
5. Regarding reporting of Central and State Government transactions to RBI, including uploading of GST/ TIN 2.0/ ICEGATE/ e-receipts luggage files, the reporting window of March 31, 2024 will be kept open till 1200 hours noon on April 1, 2024.
6. Agency banks may take note and give adequate publicity to the special arrangements made as above.
Yours faithfully
(Indranil Chakraborty)
Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2023-24/138 · issued 22 Mar 2024. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
Keep designated branches open for over-the-counter government transactions during normal hours on March 30 and 31, 2024.
Give adequate publicity to these special arrangements for customers and branches.
⚙️ Operations
Participate in special clearing for government cheques on March 30 and 31; present all government cheques accordingly.
💻 IT / Systems
Ensure NEFT and RTGS systems are available for government transactions until 2400 hours on March 31.
📜 Compliance
Upload all Central and State Government transaction files (GST, TIN 2.0, ICEGATE, e-receipts) by 1200 hours on April 1, 2024.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template
Example: if you are a Branch Manager at a bank this circular applies to (All agency banks handling government transactions, Designated branches of agency banks, Clearing houses processing government cheques, Government departments and treasuries), your first concrete step on “FY24 Year-End: Govt Account Closing Rules for Agency Banks” is: “Keep designated branches open for over-the-counter government transactions during normal hours on March 30 and 31, 2024.” (RBI issued this 22 Mar 2024).
Action required: Keep designated branches open for over-the-counter government transactions during normal hours on March 30 and 31, 2024.
Action required: Ensure NEFT and RTGS systems are available for government transactions until 2400 hours on March 31.
Action required: Participate in special clearing for government cheques on March 30 and 31; present all government cheques accordingly.
Action required: Upload all Central and State Government transaction files (GST, TIN 2.0, ICEGATE, e-receipts) by 1200 hours on April 1, 2024.
Action required: Give adequate publicity to these special arrangements for customers and branches.
Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.
💬 Banker Discussion
Discuss this circular with fellow bankers — reply, upvote what helps, report what doesn’t belong. Be professional; no client data. Views are the commenter’s own, not BankPulse’s.
BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly). Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12637&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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