Section 27 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949: Monthly Returns and RBI Power to Call for Information

Section 27 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 requires banking companies to submit prescribed monthly returns to the Reserve Bank of India and authorises the RBI to call for additional statements and information when necessary for the purposes of the Act.

Last reviewed: September 13, 2026

In brief: Section 27 is a statutory reporting and supervisory provision. It supports RBI oversight by requiring periodic information about a bank's assets and liabilities and by empowering the RBI to obtain further business or affairs-related information when required.

What Section 27 covers

The provision has three principal parts. Sub-section (1) deals with the monthly return of assets and liabilities. Sub-section (2) gives the Reserve Bank a wider power to require statements and information. Sub-section (3) imposes an additional reporting requirement on regional rural banks in relation to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

Section 27 - statutory text

Section 27(1): Monthly return of assets and liabilities

Every banking company shall, before the close of the month succeeding that to which it relates, submit to the Reserve Bank a return in the prescribed form and manner showing its assets and liabilities in India as at the close of business on the last Friday of every month or, if that Friday is a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, at the close of business on the preceding working day.

Section 27(2): RBI power to call for statements and information

The Reserve Bank may at any time direct a banking company to furnish, within the time specified by the Reserve Bank, such statements and information relating to the business or affairs of the banking company, including any business or affairs with which it is concerned, as the Reserve Bank considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of the Act. This includes the power to call for half-yearly information regarding investments and the classification of advances in respect of industry, commerce and agriculture.

Section 27(3): Regional rural banks

Every regional rural bank shall also submit to the National Bank a copy of the return submitted to the Reserve Bank under sub-section (1). The information-gathering powers exercisable by the Reserve Bank under sub-section (2) may also be exercised by the National Bank in relation to regional rural banks.

Meaning and practical effect of Section 27

1. Monthly statutory return

A banking company must provide the RBI with a prescribed monthly snapshot of its assets and liabilities in India. The reporting date is generally the last Friday of the month, with an adjustment where that Friday is a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

2. Wider supervisory information power

The monthly return is not the limit of the RBI's information-gathering authority. Under sub-section (2), the RBI may call for other statements and information relating to the bank's business or affairs whenever it considers the information necessary or expedient for the purposes of the Banking Regulation Act.

3. Information about investments and advances

Section 27 expressly recognises the RBI's ability to seek periodic information on investments and on the classification of advances across industry, commerce and agriculture. This enables supervisory review of how bank funds are deployed and how credit exposure is distributed.

4. Additional requirement for regional rural banks

A regional rural bank must furnish a copy of the monthly return to the National Bank in addition to its submission to the RBI. The National Bank also has corresponding powers under sub-section (2) in relation to regional rural banks.

Key compliance points

The return under Section 27(1) is a recurring statutory reporting obligation.
The return must be submitted in the prescribed form and manner and within the statutory time.
The RBI can require additional information at any time under Section 27(2).
The RBI may specify the time within which the requested statements or information must be furnished.
Regional rural banks have an additional reporting relationship with the National Bank under Section 27(3).

Legislative notes

The wording of Section 27 has been shaped by earlier amendments, including substitution of the expression referring to assets and liabilities "in India", substitution of sub-section (2), modification of the description of investments and advances, and insertion of sub-section (3) for regional rural banks.

Act 20 of 1950 substituted "in India" for the earlier expression.
Act 95 of 1956 substituted sub-section (2).
Act 33 of 1959 amended the wording concerning investments and classification of advances.
Act 61 of 1981 inserted sub-section (3) in connection with the National Bank.

Legal reference: For the authoritative and updated text of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, consult India Code and applicable RBI directions, notifications and reporting instructions. Regulatory forms and reporting requirements may be supplemented by directions issued by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

Related provisions

Section 27 forms part of the Act's broader reporting, supervisory and disclosure framework. Readers may also refer to Section 26 - Return of unclaimed deposits, Section 26A - Depositor Education and Awareness Fund, Section 28 - Power to publish information, Section 29 - Accounts and balance-sheet, and Section 30 - Audit.