Lockdown, due to coronavirus, has put many lives in despair. The Government of India has since been announcing numerous measures to reduce the burden on the common man. A few such steps are the extension of due dates to pay GST, investment proof submission, submission of Form 15G/15H, and a lot more.
Another initiative in the series is the extension of the due date to pay the deposit of Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) schemes. The relaxation in the rules is applicable for the deposit payments that you could have missed for the financial year 2019-20 due to the Corona lockdown.
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Here is a checklist of the updates regarding PPF and SSY schemes you must know:
- PPF and SSY subscribers must make some deposit every financial year. Otherwise, a penalty will be charged. The government has decided not to charge any penalty for those who have not made the mandatory minimum deposit by the due date of 31 March 2020. The penalty-free deposit period is extended until 30 June 2020.
- The subscriber must give a written letter to the respective office that the maximum deposit limit, as applicable to PPF and SSY, will not be breached.
- In the case of the deposit limit breach, the excess amount will be refunded without interest.
- The deposit for FY 2019-2020 and FY 2020-2021 must be made in separate transactions.
- For any deposits made pertaining to financial year other than 2019-2020, a default fee will be charged.
- The interest will be calculated based on the actual date of deposit made.
- The outstanding balance as on 31 March 2020 will be considered for withdrawal/loan from PPF.
- For those PPF subscribers whose accounts matured or whose one-year window for an extension on 31 March 2020, the window shall be extended until 30 June 2020.
- If you are willing to extend the account maturity, you can submit the duly filled and signed copy of the extension form through your registered email address. However, a physical copy must be provided once the lockdown is lifted.
For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at apoorva.n@cleartax.in
