New rules for setting up Currency Chest

RBI on 08.04.2019 notified new minimum standard for setting up new currency chests as per recommendations of Currency Movement Committee.  The Currency Movement Committee headed by Shri. D. K. Mohanty had recommended Reserve Bank that it should encourage banks to open large Currency Chests (CCs) with modern facilities and Chest Balance Limit (CBL) of at least ₹ 10 billion.

In terms of latest direction of RBI, Banks desirous of setting up new CCs shall ensure following minimum standards.

1. a) Area of the strong room/ vault of at least 1500 sq. ft. For those situated in hilly / inaccessible places (as defined by central / state government/ any  appropriate authority), the strong room/ vault area of at least 600 sq. ft.(Earlier specification 400 Sq.ft)
2. b) Processing capacity of 6, 60,000 pieces of banknotes per day. For those situated in the hilly/ inaccessible places, capacity of 2, 10,000 pieces of banknotes per day.
3. c)  Amenability to adoption of automation and adaptability to implement IT solutions.
4. d) Chest Balance Limit (CBL) of ₹ 10 billion, subject to ground realities and reasonable restrictions, at the discretion of the Reserve Bank.

The following existing technical specifications regarding construction of CCs remain unchanged.

1. Total carpet area requirement for Currency Chest should be is 2500 – 3000 sq.ft.
2. Currency Chest should be in Basement/ Ground Floor.
3. Strong will be constructed as per specification stipulated for AA class CC.
4. The parking place of cash van should be enclosed space.
5. Provision should be made for rest room including toilet for Police guards deployed at the CC.
6. Banks maintaining currency chests are required to get fire audit done once in a two years by the officials from the district fire department. RBI has relaxed norms for the fire audit of currency chests allowing banks to get it done from approved agencies in case of shortage of staff at district fire offices.The banks were also    asked to ensure that the working condition of the hotline and other security-related gadgets (access control, CCTV, etc) are checked once in a fortnight by the      currency chest officials.