KARACHI: People travelling to or from Pakistan can now carry Rs10,000 in cash after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised the limit on Tuesday by more than three times.

In case of India, however, the ceiling has been increased to Rs3,000 from Rs500, the SBP said in a statement.

The new limits are particularly for Pakistani banknotes. A passenger can carry up to $10,000 or equivalent notes of another currency while going abroad, according to SBP’s foreign exchange rules.

The revisions will “cater to genuine needs of international travellers”, the SBP said. “The above revision has been undertaken to facilitate the travellers and considering increase in the cost of goods and services with the passage of time.” The previous permissible limits were Rs3,000 for all countries other than India and Rs500 for India.

The last notification in this regard was issued in 1992, SBP spokesman Abid Qamar told Dawn.

However, the limits are seldom enforced. “I have been travelling to and from Pakistan for more than 20 years. Sometimes I have more cash than the permissible limit. They [the authorities] have never once checked me,” a traveller said.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2017