KARACHI: The old design banknotes would cease to be legal tender with effect from December 1, 2016 in the light of Federal Government’s gazette notification of June 4, 2015. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to phase out all remaining old design banknotes of Rs 10, 50, 100 and 1,000, said an SBP statement on Wednesday. The Rs five banknote and the old design Rs 500 banknote have already been demonetized. The SBP issued a new banknote series, which started with the issuance of Rs 20 denomination banknote in 2005 to improve the security, durability and aesthetic quality of the banknotes. The issuance process of the new banknotes, comprising eight denominations Rs 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000, was completed in 2008. The commercial banks would accept the old design banknotes of Rs 10, 50, 100 and 1,000 and exchange the same with the new design banknotes and coins of all denominations up to November 30, 2016. However, SBP BSC field offices would continue to accept the old banknotes of Rs 10, 50, 100 and 1,000 from general public up to December 31, 2021.