NRIs warned against taking cash to India

September 6, 2013

Cash_to_India

Dubai, Sep 6: The Central Bank of the UAE has asked banks and exchange houses operating in the country to advise their customers travelling to India to abide by the laws on carrying cash to India.

In a notice issued on Tuesday, the Central Bank also asked the banks and money exchangers to warn their customers of the consequences of failing to do so.

“The penalties stipulated in the new law include confiscation of money, prosecution and imprisonment,” the notice said.

It advised the firms that the Indian Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) had implemented a new Law on 22/05/2013, criminalising bringing cash in Indian currency into India.

As per the law, foreign travellers to India are strictly prohibited from carrying cash in Indian currency into India, while Indian nationals are permitted to carry cash not exceeding Rs7,500.

The law also stipulates that all travellers to India must declare all cash in foreign currencies they might be bringing into India, including the UAE dirham, where its value exceeds $5,000. Foreigners should also make a declaration when the aggregate value of all foreign bills in the form of currency notes, financial instruments, travellers’ cheques etc. is equal to or exceeds $10,000, the notice added.

The Central Bank’s move follows another advisory issued by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi in March. The mission advised non-redident Indians staying in the UAE against carrying Indian currency notes when they visit their homeland.

According to the mission, there is a general misconception that NRIs are allowed to carry Indian currency and there had been some instances when NRIs were found carrying large amounts of cash in the form of Indian currency while visiting India and faced problems at the airport.

“In some cases, the currency being carried by NRIs has even been found to be counterfeit,” the Embassy had said.

Its counterpart in Oman had also issued a similar advisory after “cases of counterfeit Indian currency involving Omani visitors” which the mission described as a cause for concern for the Indian government.

When contacted, Indian Ambassador to the UAE M.K. Lokesh denied the Embassy requesting the UAE Central Bank to issue any advisory on the law.

Promoth Manghat, vice-president of global operations at UAE Exchange, confirmed receiving the notice from the Central Bank. “We have already started informing our customers about this law when they come for Indian currency. The new law hasn’t had much of impact in the market.”

A section of the Indian expatriates feels they should also be allowed to carry a minimum amount of cash in Indian currency for emergency use after landing in India. However, officials point out that NRIs can exchange the UAE Dirham or any other foreign currencies with the Indian rupee on arrival in India, where there is a better system to check counterfeit Indian currency.

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Agencies
April 26,2020

Riyadh, Apr 26: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has issued an order to partially lift the curfew in all regions of the Kingdom, to become from 9am to 5pm, starting Sunday through Wednesday May 13, while keeping a 24-hour curfew in the holy city of Makkah and in previously isolated neighbourhoods, state news agency (SPA) said early on Sunday.

The order also allowed the opening of some economic and commercial activities, which include wholesale and retail shops in addition to malls.

They can operate for two weeks, beginning on April 29 (Wednesday) until May 13 (Ramadan 6-20), however, certain shops within malls like beauty clinics, barber salons, gyms, cinemas, and restaurants will continue to be restricted from reopening.

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Agencies
April 27,2020

Riyadh, Apr 27: A Saudi Arabia-led coalition said on Monday that all parties need to return to the status that existed before the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen declared an emergency in Aden, according to a statement published by Spa.

The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, stresses the need to restore conditions to their previous state following the announcement of a state of emergency by the Southern Transitional Council and the consequential development of affairs in the interim capital (Aden) and some Southern governorates in the Republic of Yemen.

The Coalition urges for an immediate end to any steps contrary to the Riyadh Agreement, and work rapidly toward its implementation, citing the wide support for the agreement by the international community and the United Nations.

The Coalition has and will continue to undertake practical and systematic steps to implement the Riyadh Agreement between the parties to unite Yemeni ranks, restore state institutions and combat the scourge of terrorism. The responsibility rests with the signatories to the Agreement to undertake national steps toward implementing its provisions, which were signed and agreed upon with a time matrix for implementation. The Coalition demands an end to any escalation and calls for return to the Agreement by the participating parties, stressing the immediate need for implementation without delay, and the need to prioritise the Yemeni peoples' interests above all else, as well as working to achieve the stated goals of restoring the state, ending the coup and combatting terrorist organizations.

The Coalition reaffirms its ongoing support to the legitimate Yemeni government, and its support for implementing the Riyadh Agreement, which entails forming a competent government that operate from the interim capital Aden to tackle economic and developmental challenges, in light of natural disasters such as floods, fears of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic outbreak, and work to provide services to the brotherly people of Yemen.

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News Network
May 3,2020

Dubai, May 3: Over 150,000 Indians in the UAE, who wish to return home amid the coronavirus lockdown, have applied through the online registration process to the Indian missions here, according to media reports.

The Indian missions in the country last week opened online registration for the expatriates who wish to fly back home after getting stuck in the country amidst the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As of 6 pm on Saturday, we received more than 150,000 registrations, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told the Gulf News on Saturday.

A quarter of them want to return to their homeland after losing their jobs, he said.

According to a report in the Khaleej Times on Sunday, about 40 per cent of the applicants who have registered are blue-collared workers and 20 per cent are working professionals.

"Roughly 20 per cent have suffered job losses and about 55 per cent of the total applicants are from Kerala," Neeraj Aggarwal, Consul, Press, Information, Culture was quoted as saying in the report.

Aggarwal said that the figures would change as they are expecting registrations from workers from other states, including Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

About 10 per cent of the applicants are visit and tourist visa holders who got stranded here due to the ongoing lockdown in India.

India extended the ongoing lockdown by two weeks from May 4 to contain the spread of the coronavirus that has affected nearly 40,000 people in the country.

Aggarwal said that a small number of the applications constitute those from pregnant women and other medical cases.

Since the online registration process was launched, the Consulate's website crashed several times due to the heavy rush of applicants wishing to register to fly back home.

The site has been working fine now though it took a lot of time for it to stabilise in the initial phase due to the heavy traffic, the counsel general said.

He said that the missions here have not yet received any information from the Indian government about the mode of transport of the stranded citizens, the prices of the tickets or how the COVID-19 test results of applicants would be assessed for their journey.

There are high-level discussions going on regarding these things, he said in the report.

Meanwhile, Norka (The Non Resident Keralites Affairs) said it has received a total of 398,000 applications from Keralites across the globe who wish to return home.

"Of which, the highest numbers are from the UAE. At least 175,423 applicants have signed up from the UAE," Norka said in an official statement on Saturday.

It also received 54,305 registrations from Saudi Arabia, 2,437 from the UK, 2,255 from the US, and 1,958 from Ukraine from those who wish to return to India, the Khaleej Times reported.

The coronavirus has infected 13,599 people and claimed 119 lives in the UAE, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said on Saturday.

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