BANKS TO CHECK ORIGINAL ID FOR CASH DEALS ABOVE SET LIMITS

NEWDELHI: The government has made it mandatory for banks and financial institutions to check the original identification documents of individuals dealing in cash above the prescribed threshold, to weed out the use of forged or fake copies. The Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry has issued a gazette notification making an amendment to the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules. The new rule now requires the reporting entity to compare “the copy of officially valid (identification) document so produced by the client with the original and recording the same on the copy”. Biometric identification number Aadhaar and other official documents are required to be obtained by the reporting entities from anyone opening a bank account as well as for any transaction of ₹50,000 and above.