PPF or Public Provident Fund is one of the most preferred investment options. For those who do not want to take any kind of risk in terms of investment and also want to create wealth in the long term, PPF can prove to be a very good scheme. Investment is made in this scheme for 15 years. A minimum of Rs 500 and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be deposited annually. Interest is being given on the investment at the rate of 7.1%.

This scheme is also considered very good in terms of saving tax. This scheme of the EEE category saves income tax in 3 ways. Tax benefits are available on the amount deposited in it, the interest received on it and the amount received on maturity. To keep the scheme running for 15 years, it is necessary to deposit a minimum amount annually in it. If you do not deposit it, the account becomes inactive. However, you can get the inactive account activated again. Know what is the process and how much penalty is charged for getting it activated again.

This is how the account will be activated again.

First of all, go to the bank or post office, wherever your account is open, and apply to restart the PPF account. After this, you will have to pay the arrears amount for the years in which you have not deposited the money, along with a penalty of Rs 50 per year. Suppose your account has been closed for three years, then you will have to pay Rs 500 per year, i.e. a total of Rs 1500 as arrears amount, and a penalty of Rs 50 for three years, i.e. a total of Rs 150 as default fee. After this, your account will be continued again. Keep in mind that the facility of loan/withdrawal is not available on closed accounts.

In these situations, you can close the account before 15 years.

If you feel the need to close the account midway after investing in PPF, then for this your account should be at least 5 years old. This means you can get this facility only after 5 years. If you withdraw before the account matures, then the money will be returned after deducting 1% interest. Apart from this, premature closure can also be done only in special circumstances like-

1- If there is a medical emergency and you need money for the treatment of yourself, your wife, or children, then you can completely close the account after 5 years and withdraw the deposited amount.

2- The account holder can prematurely close the PPF after 5 years for his own higher education or the higher education of his dependent children.

3- If you are shifting abroad, then also you can close the PPF account and withdraw the entire money.

4- In case of the death of the account holder, the account is closed before maturity. In such a case, the nominee or successor does not get the facility to continue the account. In such cases, interest is paid till the end of the month immediately preceding the month in which the account is closed.

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