Small savings subscribers will need to submit Aadhaar by September 30, 2023. Also, PAN is required to be given in case the account has amount above certain threshold. Both of these have been notified as part of KYC (Know Your Customer) for small savings schemes such as Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Saving Certificate (NSC) and Sukanya Samridhi Accounts (SSA) beside 9 others.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has also notified Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, 2023 and higher limits under Monthly Income Account Schemes and Senior Citizen Schemes. All these were announced in the Budget.
According to a notification by the Finance Ministry, if one wants to open an account for small savings, he/she will be required to submit Aadhaar apart from other documents. “If a depositor has already opened an account and has not submitted his Aadhaar number to the Accounts Office, he shall do so within a period of six months with effect from April 1, 2023, and in the event of failure of the depositor to submit the Aadhaar number within the specified period of six months, his account shall cease to be operational till the time he submits the Aadhaar Number to the Accounts Office,” the notification said.
If one does not have Aadhaar, he will be required to give proof of application at the time of opening of account. Then he/she will be required to furnish Aadhaar within six months.
The notification also mandates submission of PAN. “The individual who has not submitted the PAN at the time of opening an account shall submit the same to the Accounts Office within a period of two months from the date of happening of any of the following events, whichever is the earliest, namely:- (i) the balance at any point of time in the account exceeds ₹50,000; or (ii) the aggregate of all credits in the account in any financial year exceeds ₹1 lakh; or (iii) the aggregate of all withdrawals and transfers in a month from the account exceeds ₹10,000.”
If PAN is not submitted within the specified period of two months, his account shall cease to be operational till the time he submits so to the Accounts Office, the notification cautioned.
In three separate notifications, the Ministry implemented budget announcement about new scheme and enhancement of limits under existing schemes. Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is two years scheme, where a woman can deposit up to ₹2 lakh. The scheme will carry an interest rate of 7.5 per cent. The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will be enhanced from ₹15 lakh to ₹30 lakh. Similarly, the maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme will be enhanced from ₹4.5 lakh to ₹9 lakh for single account and from ₹9 lakh to ₹15 lakh for joint account.