pil: RBI response sought on PIL seeking uniform banking code for forex transactions

The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the response from the Reserve Bank of India on a public interest litigation seeking uniform banking code for foreign exchange transactions to check black money generation and benami deals.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice to the RBI and posted the matter for further hearing on March 20. It had in last April sought response from the ministries of finance, home affairs and law and justice on the petition. The petitioner, BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, has alleged loopholes and lapses in the current system of foreign fund transfers which, according to him, could be exploited for terror funding.

Additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma, while accepting the notice, told the court that this, being a “serious issue”, needed to be considered by the government.

Upadhyay in the PIL said the Instant Money Payment Service, National Electronics Funds Transfer and Real Time Gross Settlement meant for transfer of funds within India should not be permitted to be used for depositing foreign money in Indian banks.
He submitted that the current system of foreign fund transfer was not only harming the country’s foreign exchange reserves, but also being used to provide money to separatists, fundamentalists, Naxals, Maoists, terrorists, traitors, conversion mafias and radical organisations like the SIMI and PFI.

The deposit details in Indian banks, including foreign bank branches, for foreign exchange transactions must be in the same format whether it is export payment in a current account or salary in a savings account or donation in charities current account or service charges payable in a youtuber’s accounts. The format should be uniform whether it is converted by Western Union or National Bank or an India-based foreign bank, the PIL said.

It sought direction to the government that foreign exchange transactions through Indian banks and foreign bank branches in India must have information like the name and mobile number of the depositor, name of the currency (such as the US dollar, euro, British pound or the Chinese yuan) , and should be carried out only through international money transfer and not RTGS, NEFT or IMPS.