PPF Scheme: Public Provident Fund i.e. PPF is a very good scheme for those who want to make big money without taking any risk. Anyone can invest in this scheme for 15 years. At present, interest is being given at the rate of 7.1 percent in this government scheme. This scheme with the EEE category also saves tax in three ways. But suppose you started investing in this scheme 2 years ago and now you do not want to continue this scheme and want to close the account by withdrawing all the money, then is there any way to close the PPF account in the middle? Know what is the rule regarding this.

You can make partial withdrawal from the sixth-year

According to the rule, any person can close the PPF account completely only after completion of 15 years in normal conditions and can withdraw the entire amount including interest. If he needs money before 15 years, he can make a partial withdrawal from the account. The facility of partial withdrawal is available from the sixth financial year. In such a case, you can make partial withdrawals up to 50 percent. Before the sixth year, you get the facility of loan on PPF. You can avail of the loan facility on your PPF account after completion of one year from the date of initial deposit and till the end of the fifth financial year. Meanwhile, you can take up to 25% of the total deposit amount as a loan.

The account can be closed before 15 years in special circumstances.

PPF account can be closed after 5 years in special circumstances. In case of premature closure, the money will be returned after deducting 1% interest from the date of opening of the account. Know in which situations premature closure can be done-

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

2- The account holder can do premature closure of PPF after 5 years for his own higher education or higher education of his dependent children.

3- Even if you are shifting abroad, you can close the PPF account and withdraw the entire amount.

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

This is the method of pre-mature closure.

To close the PPF account prematurely, you have to submit a written application to the home branch of the bank account. In this application, you have to tell the reason why you are closing the account. Meanwhile, you also have to attach some documents with the application. It should have a copy of the PPF passbook.

Also, if you are closing the account for the treatment of illness, then the documents given by the medical authority, if you are closing the account for higher education, then the fee receipt, book bills, and documents confirming admission and in case of death, the death certificate has to be attached. After verification of the documents, the application to close the account is accepted. After this, your account is closed but the penalty amount is deducted.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Zee Business. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.