Making it
compulsory for account-holders to maintain a
minimum balance, the State Bank of
India (SBI) said on Thursday said it will be charging defaulters a penalty from
April 1 onwards.
Making
maintenance of Rs 5,000 mandatory for accounts in metropolitan areas, Rs 3,000
in urban areas, Rs 2,000 in semi-urban areas and Rs 1,000 in rural areas, the
SBI listed out the charges to be effective from April 1.
These
charges will be based on the difference between the minimum balance required
and the shortfall. For metropolitan areas, if the shortfall is greater than 75
per cent. the charges would be Rs 100 plus service tax.
If the
shortfall is between 50-75 per cent, the bank would charge Rs 75 plus service
tax and for below 50 per cent shortfall, a fee of Rs 50 plus service tax would
be levied, according to the SBI notification of new charges.
Similarly,
for rural areas, the penalty for non-maintenance of minimum balance ranges from
Rs 20-50 plus service tax, it said. www.ednnet.in
The public
sector lender would also renew from April 1, the Rs 50 charge for people
carrying out over three cash transactions at its branch within a month. This
charge is applicable currently as well. However, there is no upper limit on the
amount of cash transacted.
"These cash transaction charges at branches are already existing. The same have been renewed for the next financial year from April 1. It is to deter the customers from visiting the branch but the charges are very nominal. As it is, the customer does not need to visit the branch often because we provide 10 free withdrawals in a month from ATMs," a SBI official told IANS.
