If you think your Adhaar card isn’t that important, then you are wrong, especially when you are looking to invest in small savings schemes. Many people ask this question, is it compulsory to submit Adhaar to invest in small savings schemes like PPF, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) or Sukanya Samridhi Yojana (SSY), etc.? The straight answer is yes.
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You must submit your Adhaar card while opening a new account in any small savings scheme.
The reason? Well, the Ministry of Finance, in a notification dated April 3, 2023, has specified that individuals must submit certain identity documents to the Accounts Office for opening an account, as per the Government Savings Promotion General (Amendment) Rules, 2023 which includes the Aadhaar Number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India.
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What for those who don’t have Adhaar card?
Those who don’t have an Adhaar card should enroll in the Aadhaar scheme and then use the proof of enrolment to open a small savings scheme.
The Ministry of Finance requires individuals without an Aadhaar Number to present proof of enrollment application when opening an account. Within six months of opening the account, they must provide their Aadhaar Number to the Account Office.
Failure to do so within the specified period will result in the account being inactive until the Aadhaar Number is submitted to the Accounts Office.
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Other important documents for small savings scheme:
Apart from your Adhaar card, you must submit your PAN, as per the notification. If you fail to do so, you must submit it to the Accounts office of the respective financial institution within two months from the occurrence of either of the following events: (i) the account balance exceeding fifty thousand rupees, (ii) the total credits in the account for any financial year exceeding one lakh rupees, or (iii) the total withdrawals and transfers from the account in a month exceeding ten thousand rupees.
“In the event of the depositor failing to submit the Permanent Account Number within the specified two-month period, their account shall cease to be operational until they provide the Permanent Account Number to the Account Office,” stated the Ministry of Finance in the notification, as cited in an ET report.
