Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Public Provident Fund: Aadhaar, PAN Now Mandatory For Investment In These Small Saving Schemes

STARTING this new financial year which began on April 1, 2023, Permanent account number (PAN) and Aadhaar have become mandatory for those willing to invest in small saving schemes like Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), Public Provident Fund (PPF), and Senior Citizens Saving Schemes (SCSS). The Finance Ministry made an announcement concerning the same through an official notification on March 31. According to the government notification, these changes have been made as part of Know Your Customer (KYC) details for small saving schemes that are backed by the government.

Earlier, submission of an Aadhaar number was not mandatory for investment in small saving schemes. However, now for anyone subscribing to any government-backed small saving schemes, it is compulsory to submit your PAN and Aadhaar numbers. Meanwhile, existing subscribers need to submit their Aadhaar number by September 30, and any non-compliance with the new rule will result in the freezing of their accounts till the time the Aadhaar number is submitted. Given the new changes, it is now evident that if you want to open PPF, SSY, NSC (National Savings Certificate), SCSS or any other small savings account sans Aadhaar, you will have to provide an Aadhaar number within six months of account opening in order to link it with the small savings scheme investment.

One must note that if UIDAI is yet to assign you the Aadhaar card, then in that case you can furnish your Aadhaar enrolment number.

Prior to this notification, it is mandatory for subscribers to at least submit their Aadhaar enrolment number to make investments in such saving schemes.

The documents that will be required to invest in small savings schemes include
l A recent passport-size photograph
l Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrollment slip
l PAN

According to the notification, PAN is mandatory, if:

1] The account balance at any point in time is more than Rs 50,000; or
2] The total of all credits in the account in any financial year is above Rs 1 lakh.
3] The aggregate of all withdrawals and transfers in one month from the account exceeds ten thousand rupees.

On March 31, the Centre increased the interest rates of small saving schemes by almost 70 basis points for the June quarter. A notification issued by the finance ministry in this regard noted that the interest rates of schemes such as the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, Monthly Income Savings Scheme, Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificate, and Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme have been revised. The interest rates continue to remain the same for schemes including the PPF and Post Office Savings Account.

Investment in small saving schemes including PPF and Senior Citizens Saving Schemes (SCSS) is a preferred investment choice for millions of middle-income individuals in India.