RBI directs Banks to keep all branches open till March 31 for Annual Closing

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised all banks to keep their branches open until the end of business hours on March 31, despite the fact that the annual closing of accounts is only 10 days away and the financial year 2022-23 is drawing to a conclusion.

The RBI wrote in a letter to all agency banks on Tuesday that all government transactions done by agency banks in 2022-2023 must be accounted for within the same financial year.

Accordingly, all agency banks should maintain access to their authorized branches for over-the-counter transactions involving government transactions through their regular business hours on March 31, 2023, according to a letter from the central bank.

The letter further stated that transactions via the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Systems will continue until 12 midnight on March 31, 2023, as previously scheduled.

The Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS) of the RBI will give the pertinent instructions for the special clearing that will be carried out on March 31 in order to collect government checks.

Additionally, on March 31, special clearing will be carried out in order to collect government checks, for which the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS) of the RBI will provide the relevant orders.

Regarding the reporting of Central and state government transactions to RBI, including uploading of GST or TIN2.0 e-receipts luggage files, the reporting window of March 31 will be kept open till 12 noon on April 1, the RBI directed all banks.