According to ET, the Ministry of Finance announced on April 3, 2023, that, as per the Government Savings Promotion General (Amendment) Rules, 2023, individuals must provide specific identity documents to the Accounts Office when opening an account.These documents include the Aadhaar Number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India.
The notification also states that if an individual doesn’t have an Aadhaar number, they should enroll in the Aadhaar scheme. They can then use the proof of enrollment to open a small savings scheme account.
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Aadhaar For Small Savings Schemes
The Ministry of Finance has mentioned that if an individual hasn’t been assigned an Aadhaar Number, they should provide proof of application for Aadhaar enrollment when opening an account. The account holder must then provide the Aadhaar number to the Account Office within six months from the date of opening the account for linking purposes.
The notification also states that if the depositor fails to submit the Aadhaar number within the specified six-month period, their account will become non-operational until they provide the Aadhaar number to the Accounts Office.
Abhishek Kumar, a SEBI registered RIA and founder of Sahaj Money, shared his experience, stating, “Based on the provisions in GSR (General Statutory Rules) No.238 (E) dated 31.03.2023 published in Gazette of India, with effect from 01.04.2023, we had advised our clients to updated their Aadhaar and PAN details in their Small Savings Accounts such as PPF, NSC, Sukanya Samriddhi Account, etc. Most of them have done so and are not facing problems in receiving interest or operating their accounts.”
He further shared the importance of individuals taking this requirement seriously. Failure to complete this activity could result in them being unable to receive the maturity amount unless they fulfill this requirement.
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PAN submission requirement for small savings schemes
According to the notification, if an individual hasn’t provided their PAN at the time of opening a small savings scheme account, they must do so within two months from the occurrence of specific events. These events include:
(i) The balance in the account exceeding fifty thousand rupees at any point in time,
(ii) The total credits in the account exceeding one lakh rupees in any financial year, or
(iii) The total withdrawals and transfers from the account exceeding ten thousand rupees in a month.
The Ministry of Finance stated in the notification that if the depositor fails to submit their Permanent Account Number within the specified two-month period, their account will become non-operational until they provide the PAN to the Account Office.