Decision of the European Central Bank of 19 April 2013 on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes (recast) (ECB/2013/10) (2013/211/EU)

Article 3 Exchange of damaged genuine euro banknotes

1. NCBs shall, upon request, under the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 and in the relevant decision of the Governing Council referred to in Article 6, exchange damaged genuine euro banknotes where:

(a) more than 50 % of the euro banknote is presented; or

(b) 50 % or less of the euro banknote is presented, if the applicant proves that the missing parts have been destroyed.

2. Further to paragraph 1, the following additional conditions apply to the exchange of damaged genuine euro banknotes:

(a) where doubt exists as to the applicant’s legal title to the euro banknotes: identification shall be provided by the applicant, as well as proof that the applicant is the owner or otherwise authorised applicant;

(b) where doubt exists as to the authenticity of the euro banknotes: identification shall be provided by the applicant;

(c) where ink-stained, contaminated or impregnated genuine euro banknotes are presented: a written explanation as to the kind of stain, contamination or impregnation shall be provided by the applicant;

(d) where the genuine euro banknotes have been damaged by anti-theft devices: a written statement on the cause of neutralisation shall be provided by the applicant;

(e) where the genuine euro banknotes have been damaged by anti-theft devices in connection with an attempted or actual robbery, theft, or other criminal activity: the banknotes shall be exchanged only at the request of the owner or otherwise authorised applicant who is the victim of the attempted or actual criminal activity leading to the damage to the banknotes;

(f) where the genuine euro banknotes have been damaged by anti-theft devices and they are presented by institutions and economic agents referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001: a written statement on the cause of neutralisation, the reference and characteristics of the anti-theft device, details of the party presenting the damaged banknotes and the date of presentation thereof shall be provided by those institutions and economic agents;

(g) where the genuine euro banknotes have been damaged in bulk due to the activation of anti-theft devices: to the extent possible and if required by NCBs, they shall be presented in sets of 100 euro banknotes, provided that the amount of euro banknotes presented is sufficient to form such sets;

(h) where institutions and economic agents referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 present for exchange, in one or more transactions, damaged genuine euro banknotes with a value of at least EUR 7 500: documentation on the origin of the banknotes and identification of the customer or, where applicable, of the beneficial owner as defined in Directive 2005/60/EC, shall be provided by those institutions and economic agents. This obligation shall also apply in the event of doubt regarding whether the threshold value of EUR 7 500 is reached. The rules laid down in this paragraph shall be without prejudice to any stricter identification and reporting requirements adopted by Member States in transposing Directive 2005/60/EC.

3. Notwithstanding the above:

(a) where NCBs know or have sufficient reason to believe that the genuine euro banknotes have been intentionally damaged, they shall refuse to exchange and shall withhold the euro banknotes, in order to avoid the return of such euro banknotes into circulation or to prevent the applicant from presenting them to another NCB for exchange. However, they will exchange the damaged genuine euro banknotes if they either know or have sufficient reason to believe that applicants are bona fide, or if applicants can prove that they are bona fide. Euro banknotes which are damaged to a minor degree, e.g. by having annotations, numbers or brief sentences placed on them, will in principle not be considered to be intentionally damaged euro banknotes; and

(b) where NCBs know or have sufficient reason to believe that a criminal offence has been committed they shall refuse to exchange the damaged genuine euro banknotes and shall withhold them, against acknowledgement of receipt, as evidence to be presented to the competent authorities to initiate or to support an ongoing criminal investigation. Unless otherwise decided by the competent authorities, the genuine euro banknotes shall at the end of the investigation qualify for exchange under the conditions laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2;

(c) where NCBs know or have sufficient reason to believe that the damaged genuine euro banknotes are contaminated such that they pose a risk to health and safety, they shall exchange the damaged genuine euro banknotes, if the applicant can provide a health and safety assessment by the competent authorities.