The Reserve Bank of India said on Friday it has imposed a fine of Rs 84.50 lakh on the Central Bank of India for failing to comply with certain provisions of the norms related to fraud classification and reporting.

The RBI has conducted a statutory inspection of the bank for a supervisory assessment concerning the bank’s financial position as of March 31, 2021.

An examination of the reports revealed that the public sector lender failed to report fraudulent practices on certain accounts to the RBI within seven days of the Joint Lenders Forum’s (JLF) decision to declare the accounts fraudulent.

It has charged customers for SMS reminders on a fixed basis rather than an actual usage basis.

The RBI has issued a circular to banks advising them to explain why they should not be fined for failing to comply with the directions.

“After considering the bank’s responses to the notification and the oral submissions at the individual hearings, the RBI concluded that the allegation of non-compliance with the above RBI directions was substantiated and a fine was justified,” the central bank said.

However, the RBI added that the penalty is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and was not intended to declare the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.