Most of the population generally carries cash in their wallets, especially in areas where cashless payments are not widely accepted or reliable. Additionally, many people may prefer to carry cash as a backup option in case of technical difficulties with electronic payment methods. But after some time, cash does not stay intact as the currency notes were when it was newly printed. It could be torn into two or more pieces, and sometimes, its parts are torn away. But there is no need to worry about it. You can fix this problem with RBI’s refund policy.
What is RBI’s refund policy?
In 2009, RBI came out with its Note Refund Rules. Under these rules, you can exchange your torn currency notes easily. Let us have a look at what type of notes you can exchange:
Torn notes are basically divided into two categories:
1. Soiled notes
2. Mutilated notes
Soiled notes: Soiled notes refer to banknotes that have become dirty, worn out, or have small tears due to frequent usage. They are still considered legal but may not be accepted by some businesses or individuals due to their condition. Anyone can exchange these notes easily by visiting any bank without filling out any type of form.
Mutilated notes: Mutilated notes refer to banknotes that have become severely damaged, either by accident or due to deliberate mutilation. These notes are typically in such a condition that only a part of the note can be identified as a genuine banknote or cannot be identified as a genuine banknote at all.
If the value of the note is less than ₹50 and it has the minimum part of the note intact as per the following table, you will be able to get the whole amount.
| Denomination | Length (cm) | Width (cm) | Area (in cm2) | Minimum area (in cm2) required for payment of full value* |
| 1 | 9.7 | 6.3 | 61.11 | 31 |
| 2 | 10.7 | 6.3 | 67.41 | 34 |
| 5 | 11.7 | 6.3 | 73.71 | 37 |
| 10 | 13.7 | 6.3 | 86.31 | 44 |
| 10 (New MG Series) | 12.3 | 6.3 | 77.49 | 39 |
| 20 | 14.7 | 6.3 | 92.61 | 47 |
| 20 (New MG Series) | 12.9 | 6.3 | 81.27 | 41 |
And if the value of the note is more than ₹50, the following criteria apply to get the full and half amount of the note, respectively.
| Denomination | Length (cm) | Width (cm) | Area (in cm2) | Minimum area (in cm2) required for payment of full value@ | Minimum area (in cm2) required for payment of half value** |
| 50 | 14.7 | 7.3 | 107.31 | 86 | 43 |
| 50 (New MG Series) | 13.5 | 6.6 | 89.10 | 72 | 36 |
| 100 | 15.7 | 7.3 | 114.61 | 92 | 46 |
| 100 (New MG Series) | 14.2 | 6.6 | 93.72 | 75 | 38 |
| 200 | 14.6 | 6.6 | 96.36 | 78 | 39 |
| 500 | 15.0 | 6.6 | 99.00 | 80 | 40 |
| 2000 | 16.6 | 6.6 | 109.56 | 88 | 44 |
Furthermore, those who have parts of notes which are intact, lesser than the minimum area mentioned in both cases will not get any claim. So if have any torn notes, you can exchange them easily.
