Aadhaar PAN Card Now Mandatory for Small Savings Schemes

The central government on Friday made PAN and Aadhaar numbers mandatory for making investments in small saving schemes like Public Provident Fund PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), Post Office Saving Scheme, Senior Citizens Saving Scheme (SCSS). 

The Ministry of Finance issued a notification in this regard as part of KYC (Know Your Customer) for small saving schemes. 

Before this, it was possible to invest in small savings plans without providing an Aadhaar number. 

From now on Aadhaar enrolment number will be required in order to invest in government-backed small saving schemes. The notification also made it clear that anyone making investments over a specific amount will need to provide a PAN card.

As per the notification, small saving subscribers will have to submit their Aadhaar number by September 30, 2023, if they didn't submit it while opening PPF, SSY, NSC, SCSS, or any other small savings account.

The notification further made it clear that new subscribers who wish to open any of the small saving schemes without an Aadhaar number will have to furnish their Aadhaar number within six months of account opening.

Existing users will have their accounts frozen starting on October 1, 2023. 

Also Read: Govt Hikes Interest Rates For Small Savings Schemes For April-June 2023 Quarter

The notification added that PAN has to be submitted at the time of small savings account opening. In case the PAN is not submitted at the time of account opening, it must be submitted within two months of account opening in the following cases - "the balance at any point of time in the account exceeds fifty thousand rupees, or the aggregate of all credits in the account in any financial year exceeds one lakh rupees, the aggregate of all withdrawals and transfers in a month from the account exceeds ten thousand rupees."

"In the event of failure of the depositor to submit the Permanent Account Number (PAN) within the specified period of two months, his account shall cease to be operational till the time he submits the Permanent Account Number to the Accounts Office," the notification added.