Third tranche of electoral bonds sale from May 1: FinMin

The third tranche of electoral bonds will be sold from May 1 to May 10 at 11 branches of State Bank of India, the government said on Tuesday. The bonds, which will not name the donor or the recipient, can be purchased only through bank accounts meeting all KYC norms.

“State Bank of India (SBI), in the 3rd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 11 authorised branches... ” the finance ministry said in a statement.

The electoral bonds will be sold at main branches of SBI in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, apart from seven other branches across Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Assam for a period of 10 days.

The bonds will be valid for 15 days from the date of issue. They can deposited by any eligible political party into its account and would be credited on the same day.

No payment would be made to any payee political party if the bond is deposited after expiry of the valid period.

The government had notified the scheme on January 2 under which a citizen of India or an entity incorporated/ established in India can purchase electoral bonds.

A registered political party, which has secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last election of the Lok Sabha or legislative assembly will be eligible to receive electoral bonds.

The bond shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with the authorised bank,” the ministry said.