Kathmandu, Nepal, December 15 (ANI): Nepal’s Council of Ministers has decided to lift the ban on high-denomination Indian currency notes of Rs 200 and Rs 500, a government spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
Minister for Information Technology and Communication Jagdish Kharel, who is also the government spokesperson, said the Cabinet meeting held on Monday approved the import and export of Indian currency notes in denominations of Rs 200 and Rs 500.
However, the cap of Rs 25,000 per person on the amount that can be carried between India and Nepal will remain in place, Kharel said.
Elaborating further, he said provisions have been made allowing Nepalese and Indian citizens to bring up to Rs 25,000 per person from India to Nepal and carry the same amount from Nepal to India. With the lifting of the ban, Indian currency notes issued after November 9, 2016, can now be brought into circulation in Nepal.
India had demonetized high-denomination currency notes in 2016, following which the import and export of such notes from Nepal were banned.
Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India had made arrangements to allow the import and export of high-denomination Indian notes to Nepal. After India eased restrictions, the Nepal government also lifted its ban.
The RBI amended the Foreign Exchange Management Regulations, 2015, to permit the import and export of high-denomination Indian notes between Nepal and India.
Following India’s demonetization move in 2016, large-denomination Indian currency notes were not exchanged in Nepal, prompting restrictions on the circulation of Indian notes of denominations higher than Rs 100.
The Nepal government has now lifted the ban, taking into account the open border between the two countries and Nepal’s trade dependence on India.
At the time of demonetization, around Rs 50 million worth of Indian currency was present in Nepal’s banking system, which is yet to be exchanged.
About The Author
