Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) holders were granted a three-month extension by the government to make deposits for FY 2019-20 till June 30, 2020 due to nationwide lockdown across the country because of a coronavirus outbreak.
For this purpose depositors have to give an undertaking that they will not breach the annual ceiling kept for the schemes while making deposits into their respective accounts during the extended period. This is subject to a maximum deposit ceiling of Rs 1.5 lakh.
March 31, 2020 will be considered as the last date for the purpose of payment of interest for this deposit made till June 30.
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The government had also extended the dates for claiming income tax deduction for 2019-20 to June 30 on making various investments and payments. This includes Section 80C- including investments in PPF, 80D for health insurance and 80G for donations.
It is noteworthy that no penalty will apply on non-deposit of mandated minimum deposit in PPF account for FY 2019-20, as announced by the government.
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Till June 30, PPF account holders can make the deposit and penalty fee will not be levied on it. Other small savings schemes will also get benefits.
If the account had not been operated in any previous years then the default fee will be applied. The relaxation on default fee is confined only for FY20.
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The balance in PPF and SSA as of March 31 will be considered for the purpose of deciding withdrawal limit or loan. PPF subscribers, whose accounts matured on March 31, 2020 and could not extend their accounts due to lockdown, can extend up to June 30.
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