No overwriting on cheques after Dec 1

June 30 THE RBI directive to banks, asking them not to honour cheques with overwriting, will come into effect from December 1 effect from December 1 instead of the earlier scheduled date of July 1, the apex bank said in its latest circular.
The new rule is intended to prevent fraudulent withdrawal o f money and expedite clearance of cheques.
When contacted, an RBI spokesperson said, "The notification regarding Cheque Truncation System (CTS), which prohibits alteration, will come into effect from December 1, 2010. There is no mention of July 1."
The central bank in February had come out with circular on standardisation and enhancement of security features in cheque forms, detailing the norms for image-based processing of cheques.
RBI had said that fresh cheques should be issued by customers in case of change in payee's name or amount whether in figures or words. Changes, however, could be made with regard to date.
The new norms will not apply to those cheques that are cleared by clear ing houses that use mag netic ink character recognition (MICR) or non-MICR system.
Also, the norms will not be mandatory for over the counter collection of funds or for direct collection of cheques outside the clearance house arrangement. 

SOURCE: Expressbuzz