The Finance Ministry has made Aadhaar mandatory for small saving schemes including post office deposits and Public Provident Fund.
“Provided that where Aadhaar number has not been assigned, the depositor shall submit proof of application of enrolment for Aadhaar,” said the Ministry in four separate notifications for Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificate, PPF and post office deposits.
According to the provision, which is already in effect, all depositors have been given time till December 31, 2017 to provide the 12-digit unique identification number and link it with their accounts.
The move is the latest by the government in a series of measures to crack down on tax evaders and black money.
Earlier, the Finance Ministry had also made it mandatory to link Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number and bank accounts and also quote it in income tax returns.
The deadline for seeding PAN and bank accounts with Aadhaar has also been set as December 31.