Dimapur, Dec. 16: With a view to curbing the misuse of the donation channel for conversion of the banned currency notes, the State Government advised all religious trusts and institutions in the State not to accept old Rs 500 and Rs1000 notes as donations from the general public.
In a notification, the government also asked not to accept old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes even in the donation boxes, saying a donation, which is obviously a transaction between donor and receiver in demonetised currency notes, is prohibited post November 8 when demonetised notes ceased to be legal tenders.
Notices should be displayed in prominent places in the religious places and near the donation box itself to ensure that devotees should not drop old notes in the donation box, the notification said.
The government further asked religious trusts and institutions not to deposit such currency notes in the bank account even if they are found in donation box. They must be separately recorded and kept by the trust till such time a clear instruction is received from the Central Government in this matter, it informed. In order to prevent any manipulation in the process of counting money received in the donation box, it was advised to open the donation boxes in the presence of two independent witnesses and keep a proper record of the contents found in the donation box. Besides, the entire process of opening and counting may be video recorded and preserved for any future examination, the government further said.
