With RBI withdrawing the ₹2,000 currency notes from circulation, people in large numbers are disposing of the highest denomination notes.
The Telangana Petroleum Dealers’ Association has a request to customers visiting fuel stations. Please keep petty cash or use digital payments while refilling their vehicles for less than ₹500.
The request stems from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s 19 May announcement that it is withdrawing currency notes of ₹2,000 denomination from circulation. The central bank, however, said that the notes would be valid till 30 September.
The announcement has made several people dispose of the ₹2,000 currency notes in their possession.
Fuel stations, like many others, are bearing the heat of the currency note withdrawal, which critics of the government and media dubbed as “mini demonetisation”.
The dealers’ body has reportedly put up messages at oil and gas filling stations across Hyderabad, requesting customers to consider the difficulty in providing the change.
“We take a ₹2,000 note only if the customer wants to get the tank filled for a minimum ₹500. Less than that, it is difficult for us to give them change,” a fuel station manager in Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills told South First.
There have been reports that doctors, too, are facing a similar problem, with a significant proportion of patients now preferring to pay their fees with ₹2,000 notes.
“Please cooperate with us in serving you by tendering change or opting for digital payments. Since customers are trying to use ₹2,000 notes, we are extremely short of change,” the TDPA said in a statement,
“We solicit your cooperation by tendering exact or reasonable note denominations as per your purchase amount at our outlets. We try to serve you in every possible manner, but we are not responsible to provide you change for every ₹2,000 note,” it added.
The TPDA pointed at the severe shortage of change that is being experienced after the RBI’s announcement.
“The association appeals to customers to consider using precise or reasonable denominations for their purchases to alleviate the ongoing change scarcity at filling stations,” it said.
The surge in customers making purchases using ₹2,000 currency notes has created a challenge in maintaining sufficient change reserves.
In its statement, the RBI noted: “About 89 percent of the ₹2,000-denomination banknotes were issued before March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated lifespan of four-five years.”
It added: “The total value of these (₹2,000) banknotes in circulation has declined from ₹6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on 31 March 2018 (37.3 percent of notes in circulation), to ₹3.62 lakh crore, constituting only 10.8 percent of notes in circulation, on 31 March 2023.
The central bank said it had also observed that this denomination was “not commonly used for transactions”.
It also noted that the stock of banknotes in other denominations “continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public”.
The RBI has stated that the ₹2,000 banknotes could be used as legal tender. It also said the currency notes could be deposited in banks, or changed for notes of lesser denominations.
The RBI said citizens could exchange ₹2,000 notes for other denominations up to a limit of ₹20,000 at a time at any bank from 23 May.
“The facility for exchange of ₹2,000 banknotes up to the limit of ₹20,000 at a time shall also be provided at the 19 regional offices (ROs) of RBI having Issue Departments from 23 May 2023,” the statement said.
The central bank also said all banks would have to provide deposit and/or exchange facilities for ₹2,000 banknotes until 30 September.
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