A duplicate-demand-draft request has its own service clock
Paragraphs 128–130 of RBI’s Commercial Banks Responsible Business Conduct Directions, 2025 address duplicate drafts. A duplicate up to and including ₹5,000 may be issued to the purchaser on adequate indemnity without insisting on non-payment advice from the drawee office. The bank must issue the duplicate within a fortnight of receipt of the request; delay beyond that period attracts interest at the term-deposit rate applicable to the corresponding maturity. The stated instructions concern requests by the purchaser or beneficiary and exclude drafts endorsed to third parties.
Checked on 25 October 2026 against the version updated on 1 October 2026, this guide concerns commercial banks governed by those Directions. It does not guarantee immediate duplicate issue, invent a universal fixed interest rate or treat a third-party endorsement as an ordinary purchaser request. The ₹5,000 simplified-document route and the fortnight service obligation should be recorded separately.
Establish the requester and preserve receipt evidence
Record draft number, issue branch, date, value, purchaser, beneficiary, endorsement history and the facts of loss. Obtain the applicable indemnity and other legitimate supporting records. A customer’s first enquiry and an evidenced request are not automatically identical events. Preserve the request actually received, acknowledgement and any documented deficiency exchange; do not silently reset an acknowledged receipt date whenever the file moves between branches.
For a lost draft within the paragraph 128 amount and requester conditions, distinguish adequate indemnity from insistence on non-payment advice. Above ₹5,000, the special simplification is not established by that paragraph; it does not follow that duplicate issue is forbidden. Apply the bank’s legitimate documented process and the actual scope of the Directions.
Reconcile overdue days and the applicable rate
A fortnight is fourteen days, not two working weeks. The date examples exclude the receipt date and assume no special timing dispute. Retain the actual duplicate-issue date. For delay compensation, obtain the bank’s term-deposit rate for the corresponding maturity and the relevant interest-computation convention. The examples use expressly assumed simple interest on the draft amount and a 365-day denominator; they illustrate the arithmetic, not a mandated rate or day-count convention in paragraph 129.
Keep the principal instrument, any issue fee and delay interest separate. A compensation calculation is not a second payment of the draft principal. Equally, revalidation of an existing draft, cancellation and obtaining a duplicate are different service events. Paragraph 125’s three-month validity rule does not convert the duplicate-request period into three months.
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts below are fictional. Assumptions describe the model, not additional statutory rules.
Illustrative example 1: Inclusive small-draft boundary
A purchaser requests a duplicate for a lost ₹5,000 draft and supplies adequate indemnity, with the other conditions satisfied. ₹5,000 is within the “up to and including” boundary. The paragraph 128 simplification is available on these facts.
Illustrative example 2: One rupee above the boundary
A lost draft is ₹5,001. It exceeds ₹5,000 by ₹1, so the paragraph 128 small-amount simplification is not established. This does not mean the bank cannot issue a duplicate through its proper process.
Illustrative example 3: Fortnight endpoint
Assume receipt of the relevant request on 1 September 2026. Excluding that date, fourteen days later is 15 September. This example does not replace a fortnight with fourteen working days.
Illustrative example 4: Identify excess delay
Using the same receipt date, assume the duplicate is issued on 18 September. Elapsed time is seventeen days, or three days beyond fourteen. Rate and interest-convention evidence are still needed to calculate compensation.
Illustrative example 5: Illustrative interest only
Assume a ₹20,000 draft, fifteen compensable delayed days, a properly evidenced corresponding-maturity rate of 6% a year and an agreed simple actual/365 calculation. Interest is ₹20,000 × 6% × 15/365 = ₹49.315068, rounded to ₹49.32. The 6% is fictional and must not be reused as a bank’s actual rate.
Illustrative example 6: Do not multiply the principal
On the prior illustration’s assumptions, principal ₹20,000 and delay interest ₹49.32 are different components. Their arithmetic sum is ₹20,049.32, but the interest claim is ₹49.32. Issuing a replacement instrument does not create a second ₹20,000 underlying entitlement.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify the service | Distinguish loss/duplicate issue from cancellation or revalidation. |
| 2 | Identify the requester | Document purchaser, beneficiary and any third-party endorsement. |
| 3 | Verify the instrument | Match number, issue date, branch, amount and loss evidence. |
| 4 | Test the simplified route | Check the inclusive ₹5,000 threshold and adequate indemnity conditions. |
| 5 | Preserve the request received | Keep acknowledgement and documented deficiency correspondence. |
| 6 | Diary the fortnight | Calculate fourteen elapsed days with the actual receipt facts. |
| 7 | Record duplicate issue | Retain issue date, instrument reference and delivery/collection evidence. |
| 8 | Verify delay and rate | Identify excess days and the bank’s applicable corresponding-maturity term-deposit rate. |
| 9 | Recalculate interest | Document principal, day-count, simple/other convention and final rounding. |
| 10 | Close the claim file | Reconcile duplicate instrument, charges, compensation and any unresolved complaint without duplicating principal. |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Is ₹5,000 included in the simplified route?
Yes. Paragraph 128 says up to and including that amount, with its other conditions.
2. Is ₹5,001 also within that exact boundary?
No. It is above the stated limit.
3. Does exceeding ₹5,000 prohibit a duplicate?
No. It means that particular simplified route is not established; examine the proper process.
4. Who is specifically mentioned for the small-amount indemnity route?
Paragraph 128 refers to the purchaser and adequate indemnity.
5. What about a beneficiary’s request?
Paragraph 130 includes purchaser or beneficiary requests within the stated instructions; do not assume every paragraph’s special wording is identical.
6. Are third-party-endorsed drafts covered by the same stated instructions?
Paragraph 130 expressly excludes that case.
7. Must the bank always obtain non-payment advice for a qualifying small purchaser request?
Paragraph 128 permits adequate indemnity without insisting on that advice on its stated facts.
8. Does the framework promise same-day duplicate issue?
The stated service period is a fortnight from receipt of the request.
9. Does a fortnight mean fourteen working days?
No. It is a fourteen-day interval; preserve actual receipt and issue facts.
10. Can internal branch movement silently reset receipt?
Do not replace the acknowledged request date with an internal handling date without a proper factual/legal basis.
11. Is every draft governed by a universal 6% delay rate?
No. The example rate is fictional; obtain the applicable term-deposit rate for corresponding maturity.
12. Does paragraph 129 itself prescribe actual/365 simple interest?
The example assumes that convention. Verify the applicable computation basis rather than treating it as statutory wording.
13. Is delay interest a second principal payment?
No. Keep the instrument entitlement and compensation separate.
14. Does three-month draft validity replace the fortnight issue period?
No. Validity/revalidation and duplicate-request handling are separate matters.
15. Can revalidation be treated automatically as issuing a duplicate?
No. Identify what service was requested and completed.
16. What evidence matters most in a delay claim?
The requester/instrument facts, actual request receipt, duplicate-issue date, applicable rate and transparent calculation.
Conclusion
Document lost-draft requests, test the ₹5,000 simplified indemnity route and reconcile the fortnight issue deadline with evidenced delay interest.