Demonetised notes sent abroad by courier

NEW DELHI: The customs department has unearthed a new modus operandi of sending demonetised ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes abroad by courier in a bid to get them converted here later.

After the high denomination notes were taken out of circulation by the government in November last year, non-resident Indians (NRIs) were given a longer window till June 30, 2017, to get them exchanged, whereas citizens who were in the country at that time were allowed to deposit the old notes till December 30, 2016.

Customs officials have registered a few cases, where demonetised banknotes were sent abroad by courier, and seized over ₹1 lakh in such notes, a senior official said on Sunday.

People were found trying to send the old notes abroad by falsely declaring them as articles such as books, he said.

“The aim could be to take help of their relatives or friends abroad to get the old notes exchanged with the new ones,” the official said.

In two cases, couriers were booked from Punjab for Australia and the contents inside them were declared as book.

Customs officials, who are keeping an eye on outbound parcels at foreign post office here, found them having demonetised notes. Similar consignments were booked for Korea and the UAE containing the defunct notes. “In all, over ₹1 lakh in old currency notes were seized from these couriers,” he said.

Such cases have also been registered at foreign post offices across the country, the official said. NRIs coming to India are required to come through Red Channel, disclosing to the Customs authorities at the airport the amount of demonetised notes and securing a certificate to be tendered at the Reserve Bank of India at the time of exchange.