The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday extended the mandatory requirement of updating know-your-customer (KYC) information periodically by three months to March 31, 2022. The relaxation has been given taking into account the prevailing uncertainty around the new Omicron variant.

“In view of the prevalent uncertainty due to the new variant of COVID-19, the relaxation provided in the aforementioned circular is hereby extended till March 31, 2022,” the central bank said in a notification on Thursday. 

Earlier in May, when the second wave of COVID-19 had hit the country and several States had mandated lockdowns, the RBI had given customers an extension to update their KYC information till December 31, 2021. The extension was given so that banks and other regulated entities did not put restrictions on account-holders for cash deposits or withdrawals. 

Under the mandate laid out by the central bank, regulated entities, such as banks, mutual funds and financial companies, are required to comply with KYC norms. Account-holders are required to submit documents such as identity proof and address proof with an option to submit KYC forms, video KYC or sharing the documents through DigiLocker. 

In its Financial Stability Report published on Wednesday, the RBI acknowledged the threat of the newly-emerged Omicron variant. The RBI had noted that Omicron had cast a shadow on global economic prospects, and it had haunted near-term prospects on the domestic front. “The global recovery is clouded by the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19,” RBI had said in the report.