Customers may choose counter acknowledgement
Paragraphs 139–141 of RBI's Commercial Banks—Responsible Business Conduct Directions, 2025 require cheque drop-box facilities and acknowledgement at regular collection counters. A branch must not refuse acknowledgement when a customer tenders a cheque at the counter. Customers must not be compelled to use the box. The current directions version is updated as on 1 October 2026; this article concerns the covered commercial banks.
The notice must be on the box itself
Paragraph 140 requires the message about counter deposit and acknowledgement on pay-in slips to be displayed on the cheque drop-box in English, Hindi and the concerned regional language. A general lobby notice is not the text's stated location. Corporate treasury teams should give messengers a clear choice of deposit route and retain submission evidence for material or time-sensitive instruments.
The bank must account for instrument counts
Paragraph 141 requires foolproof arrangements accounting for the number of instruments whenever the box is opened. This controls custody at collection, not simply daily monetary totals. Two batches can have equal value but different instruments. Maintain cheque number, drawer, payee, amount, deposit route and date so a missing cheque can be identified rather than reported as an unexplained aggregate gap.
Acknowledgement and clearing are different events
An acknowledged deposit supports submission evidence; it is not certification that the cheque is genuine, honoured or finally credited. Keep submitted, collected, returned and pending statuses separate. A provisional entry should not close a debtor permanently where the instrument is returned. Use actual branch records and bank credits to resolve discrepancies.
Escalate the precise service failure
If counter acknowledgement is refused or customers are directed compulsorily to the box, preserve branch/date and the actual request. If a cheque is unaccounted for, identify the instrument and match collection and clearing evidence. Request the applicable bank complaint route and track the response. These paragraphs do not themselves prescribe a fixed compensation tariff or a universal clearing deadline; do not invent one from the acknowledgement duty.
Make the client receipt register auditable
Reconcile the messenger's handover, branch submission and bank statement before closing receivables. Count and value controls complement each other. Examples are internal reconciliation models, not RBI-prescribed accounting formats, penalty calculations or a promise of payment by a named date.
Framework checked on 26 October 2026. Read the primary provisions.
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts below are fictional. Assumptions describe the model, not additional statutory rules.
Illustrative example 1: Instrument count gap
The deposit register lists eight cheques but box-opening evidence accounts for seven. The one-instrument difference needs identification even before the total value is reconciled.
Illustrative example 2: Equal values do not prove equal instruments
Batch A has two cheques ₹40,000 and ₹60,000, total ₹1,00,000. Batch B has one ₹1,00,000 cheque. Equal value conceals a count difference of one; instrument identities remain essential.
Illustrative example 3: Pending clearing
Submitted cheques total ₹3,00,000. Actual realised credits are ₹2,20,000 and there are no returns yet. Pending realisation is ₹80,000, despite acknowledgement of all submitted instruments.
Illustrative example 4: Returned instrument
A ₹50,000 cheque provisionally recorded as collected is returned unpaid in full. The model net realised receipt is ₹0; restore the appropriate ₹50,000 debtor/clearing exposure.
Illustrative example 5: Split collection routes
Ten cheques are deposited, six at counters and four through the box. Total submission count is ten, with six counter acknowledgements expected for that route and a separate four-instrument box trail.
Illustrative example 6: Debtor settlement
A debtor owes ₹1,50,000 and sends ₹1,00,000 by cheque. After verified realisation of that cheque, remaining receivable is ₹50,000. Neither the pay-in slip nor clearing settles the unpaid remainder.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm bank scope | Covered commercial-bank directions. |
| 2 | Record instruments | Cheque identity, drawer, payee and value. |
| 3 | Choose deposit route | Counter or voluntary box use. |
| 4 | Retain counter evidence | Acknowledged pay-in slip where tendered. |
| 5 | Check box notice | Required location and languages. |
| 6 | Reconcile box counts | Every opening and instrument trail. |
| 7 | Match bank credits | Actual realised amount and date. |
| 8 | Resolve returns | Return evidence and ledger correction. |
| 9 | Track complaints | Precise service failure and bank response. |
| 10 | Close receivables | Submission, clearing and outstanding balances agree. |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Can a branch force customers to use the box?
Paragraph 140 prohibits compulsion.
2. May customers request counter acknowledgement?
Paragraph 139 protects that facility.
3. Does a box replace regular counter collection?
Both facilities are required.
4. Where is the choice notice displayed?
On the cheque drop-box itself.
5. Which languages are stated?
English, Hindi and the concerned regional language.
6. Does the rule concern only monetary totals?
Paragraph 141 specifically addresses instrument counts.
7. When must box counts be accounted for?
Each time the box is opened.
8. Does acknowledgement prove honouring?
No. Clearing and realisation are separate.
9. Is every submission an immediately settled debtor?
Use the actual collection status.
10. Can equal batch values conceal a missing cheque?
Instrument counts and identities may differ.
11. Should counter and box trails be separated?
Preserve the evidence appropriate to each route.
12. What if one cheque is returned?
Restore the relevant exposure using return evidence.
13. Do these paragraphs prescribe ₹100 daily compensation?
They do not state that tariff.
14. Do they fix one universal clearing deadline?
Do not infer such a deadline from these paragraphs.
15. What should a complaint identify?
Branch, date, request/failure and specific instruments.
16. What is the final reconciliation?
Submitted count/value against cleared, returned and pending instruments.
Conclusion
RBI requires both drop-box and counter acknowledgement facilities at covered commercial banks. Customers cannot be compelled to use the box. Preserve cheque-level submission evidence, box-opening counts and the separate clearing trail; acknowledgement is not proof of realisation.