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TIED IN A KNOT
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WEDDINGS MADE AT CENTRAL BANK
* Wedding card, copies of advance payments required for withdrawals
* Withdrawals can be made only from balance available before Nov 8
* Withdrawals only for marriages solemnised on or before December 30
* Either of the parents or person getting married can make withdrawal
* Detailed list of persons to whom withdrawan cash is proposed to be paid
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Wedding card, copies of advance payments made for booking marriage hall and caterers will be required for withdrawing Rs 2.5 lakh from own accounts, as per stringent conditions imposed by RBI on either of the parents to meet wedding expenses.
Four days after the government announced special dispensation for meeting wedding expenses, RBI on Monday issued detailed operating guidelines for banks for dealing with such requests.
Withdrawals will be allowed only from balance available before November 8 decision of the government to demonetise 500 and 1,000 currency notes and the same can be done only for marriages solemnised on or before December 30.
Banks have also been asked to keep records of all disbursals and drawers will have to submit a list of persons to whom payments will be made out of the funds.
The special dispensation was given to ease the cash crunch faced during the ongoing wedding season due to imposition of cash withdrawal restrictions on all bank accounts in the aftermath of the demonetisation decision.
Restrictions were placed as banks are grappling with cash shortage.
“Withdrawals can be made by either of the parents or the person getting married. (Only one of them will be permitted to withdraw),” the notification said.
Further, there should be “a detailed list of persons to whom the cash withdrawn is proposed to be paid, together with a declaration from such persons that they do not have a bank account. The list should indicate the purpose for which the proposed payments are being made”.
RBI also said banks should encourage families to incur wedding expenses through non-cash means through cheques or drafts, credit or debit cards, pre-paid cards, mobile transfers, Internet banking channels, NEFT/RTGS and the like.
“Therefore, members of the public should be advised, while granting cash withdrawals, to use cash to meet expenses which have to be met only through cash mode,” RBI told banks.
Banks have been asked to keep a proper record of the evidence and produce them for verification by the authorities in case of need.
The scheme will be reviewed based on authenticity or bona fide use thereof, RBI added.
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Banks get about
Rs 5.44 lakh cr
scrapped notes
* People have exchanged and deposited over Rs 5.44 lakh crore worth of scrapped Rs 500/1,000 notes at different banks till November 18 following demonetisation of the higher denomination currency
* The banks also disbursed Rs 1,03,316 crore over the counter and via ATMs between November 10 and November 18, the Reserve Bank said in a statement
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It's a bumpy drive for
auto dealers in Goa
KARAN SEHGAL / PANAJI
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DWINDLING SALES
* People don't have enough cash to make down payment for vehicles
* Vehicles have been booked but there are no takers for delivery
* Dealers think it will take 1-2 months for market to become normal
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After facing a sharp increase in road-tax in September, auto dealers in Goa are in for yet another rude shock as sales of cars, bikes and scooters have fallen sharply because people are finding it very difficult to spare cash for down payment due to demonetisation.
Prashant Joshi, president of Goa Automobile Dealers Association (GADA), said, “In my opinion, car sales in Goa should be down by 40-45% because we are more of a cash market. This is not to say that it was black money, but people had the habit of making a down payment of Rs 1 to 1.5 lakhs for a car in cash.”
Joshi continued, “While in metros, people use debit/credit card to make down payment, the trend in Goa had just started.”
This shows that auto dealers in Goa were suddenly caught unawares as Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes were declared illegal tender on November 08th.
Tejasavi Pai, vice-president, Chowgule Industries (dealers of Maruti Suzuki), said, “Car sales are 20-25% down after demonetisation was announced. We have tie-ups with banks to provide financing, which is still helping us. But, on their own, people are finding it very tough to get loan from banks as their staff is extremely occupied.”
Two-wheeler dealers are facing an even more peculiar problem because a lot of people buy scooters and bikes as gifts on birthdays and anniversaries and prefer making entire payment on cash.
Evencio Quadros, chairman and managing director, Quadros Group (dealers of Piaggio, Suzuki, Yamaha and Mahindra two-wheelers), said, “We have bookings, but people are saying that they don’t have money and hence they can’t make a purchase.”
He continued, “People in Goa have the habit of keeping Rs 1 to 2 lakhs in their house for unforeseen circumstances. Until, people manage to have that much cash in new currency notes, they aren’t going to buy automobiles.”
Banks are coming out with new schemes to help auto dealers brave such a downturn. Vinay Kunkolienkar from Goa Rajee (dealers of Honda), said, “HDFC Bank has come out with a loan product for its account-holders and government employees, wherein the bank will provide finance if people make a down payment of a nominal Rs 3,267 to buy a two-wheeler.”
He continued, “In the first one week after demonetization was announced, our sales were down to just one-thirds. But, subsequently, demand has picked up to 85% of normal sales as people are making payments by demand drafts, cheques and credit/debit cards.”
Another source informed that certain banks are giving loans for entire on-road price of cars. But, even with such measures, dealers said that it will take one to two months for normalcy to return to auto market.
