President Pranab Mukherjee is understood to have given his assent to the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liability) Bill, 2017, which now makes it a crime to hold more than 10 of the defunct currency notes.
“The Bill has been approved by the President and it is now an Act,” said a source close to the development.
The Bill came after the government’s decision to demonetise old series ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes on November 8.
Besides ending the liability of the RBI and the government on the defunct currency notes, the Act makes holding, transfer and receiving of more than 10 such currency notes a criminal offence after December 31, 2016.
Violation of the law will invite a fine of ₹10,000 or five times the amount of the face value of the specified bank notes involved in the contravention, whichever is higher.