Revised Guidelines for Safe Deposit Locker

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published extensive instructions on the use of lockers and the responsibilities of both the locker owner and the bank in a notice dated August 18, 2021.

If it fails to do so, the bank will be held liable for any damage or loss resulting from fire, theft, break-in, robbery, dacoity, or building collapse that occurs as a result of the failure or carelessness of the bank itself.

It is impossible to claim that banks are not responsible for the loss of locker contents if they are responsible for the incidents mentioned above or if their employee(s) committed fraud.

In these cases, the banks' liability shall be for an amount equal to one hundred times the prevailing annual rent of the locker. A new Board-approved policy and SOPs on safe deposit locker facilities/safe custody articles were also required of the banks, and they were outlined in a notified release.

In addition, consumers must be made aware that their locker contents are not covered by the bank. Also, beginning January 1, 2021, bank locker operations will undergo a full overhaul.