Bhutan, July 31: The ngultrum is like any other foreign currency and cannot be used as a medium of payment in India, the Reserve Bank has said.
The use of the ngultrum along with the rupee — both currencies are on a par — in towns like Jaigaon in Jalpaiguri district bordering the Himalayan kingdom has been going on for several years. The absence of foreign exchange counters is the main reason for this practice.
In a letter dated July 26, 2007, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) makes it clear that the Bhutanese currency is not a “legal tender” (accepted by law) on this side of the border, prompting the business community of the region to renew their cry for a forex counter at Jaigaon, 250km from here. The nearest is in Calcutta. The traders also want the appointment of private authorised dealers, who can exchange currency, for those who are in Siliguri deal with dollars and pounds only.
“Recently, security agencies had seized some Bhutanese currency and arrested a businessman who has had transactions in ngultrums over years,” said Biswajit Das, secretary of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries, North Bengal (Focin). “We wrote to the RBI to know about the norms. They told us that we cannot do business in ngultrums.”
The letter addressed to Das — signed by Saurabh Nath, an assistant general manager of the RBI posted in Calcutta — also clarifies that though under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, a resident can acquire and accept ngultrums for business purposes, amounts in excess of $2,000 must be surrendered to an authorised dealer.
“We will send circulars to our member associations and at the same time write to the RBI to appoint authorised dealers,” Das said.
To some traders, the letter has come as a big blow. “Many of us in the Dooars have to accept ngultrums from our customers in Bhutan as there is no forex counter. If the norms are strictly followed, we will have to close down our business,” said Bijoy Barua, the secretary of Banarhat Merchants’ Association
The use of the ngultrum along with the rupee — both currencies are on a par — in towns like Jaigaon in Jalpaiguri district bordering the Himalayan kingdom has been going on for several years. The absence of foreign exchange counters is the main reason for this practice.
In a letter dated July 26, 2007, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) makes it clear that the Bhutanese currency is not a “legal tender” (accepted by law) on this side of the border, prompting the business community of the region to renew their cry for a forex counter at Jaigaon, 250km from here. The nearest is in Calcutta. The traders also want the appointment of private authorised dealers, who can exchange currency, for those who are in Siliguri deal with dollars and pounds only.
“Recently, security agencies had seized some Bhutanese currency and arrested a businessman who has had transactions in ngultrums over years,” said Biswajit Das, secretary of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries, North Bengal (Focin). “We wrote to the RBI to know about the norms. They told us that we cannot do business in ngultrums.”
The letter addressed to Das — signed by Saurabh Nath, an assistant general manager of the RBI posted in Calcutta — also clarifies that though under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, a resident can acquire and accept ngultrums for business purposes, amounts in excess of $2,000 must be surrendered to an authorised dealer.
“We will send circulars to our member associations and at the same time write to the RBI to appoint authorised dealers,” Das said.
To some traders, the letter has come as a big blow. “Many of us in the Dooars have to accept ngultrums from our customers in Bhutan as there is no forex counter. If the norms are strictly followed, we will have to close down our business,” said Bijoy Barua, the secretary of Banarhat Merchants’ Association
