Petrol Pumps, Airlines Will Accept Old Rs 500 Currency Notes Only Till Tomorrow

The government has cut short the deadline of using old Rs 500 notes at petrol pumps and for buying airline tickets at airports till December 2 instead of December 15 as was announced earlier.

With effect from December 3, old Rs 500 notes cannot be used for purchase of petrol, diesel and gas at the stations operating under authorisation of public sector oil marketing companies and for buying airline tickets at airport counters, a government notification said.

While junking old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8, the government had allowed their use for utility bill payments for 72 hours. This deadline was extended twice, and when the last one was to expire on November 24, the government issued fresh guidelines saying only the old Rs 500 notes could be used for payment of utility bills like electricity and water, school fees, pre-paid mobile top-up, fuel purchase and airline ticket booking.

While the old notes will continue to be accepted for the other utility bill payments as well as at railway ticketing counters and counters of government or public sector undertaking buses for purchase of bus tickets till December 15, it will be discontinued for purchase of fuel and airline tickets at airport counters.

Toll collection on National Highways, which was also halted in the wake of withdrawal of high-value notes, will resume from the midnight of December 2, the road ministry said on Wednesday.

Sources said the move to curtail use of old notes at petrol pumps and highway toll plazas follows reports of the facility being misused to launder black money.