Bank Of Maharashtra PPF Account

The highlights or the main features of the PPF accounts are mentioned below.

Tenure – The maturity period of the PPF account is 15 years. The investor can extend the PPF account beyond this maturity term for one or more blocks of 5 years. Application for the same has to be made within one year from the date of maturity.

Rate of Interest – The rate of interest on the PPF accounts is decided on a quarterly basis by the government of the country and is currently at 7.1% per annum effective from 1st April, 2021.

Contributions – The investor can contribute a minimum of Rs. 500 to a maximum of Rs. 1,50,000 to his/her PPF account during any particular year. Contribution in excess of the given limits is not eligible for any tax benefits.

Nomination – The bank allows nomination facility of the PPF accounts where the investor can nominate one or more nominees to the PPF account. Maximum number of nominees to the PPF account is 4 and the investor can also direct the share of each nominee. The bank also allows a change in the nomination as well as the share of the nominees at the discretion of the investor.

Transfer of PPF account – The investor can transfer his/her PPF account to any of the branches of the bank or to any post office and vice-versa.

Benefits of the PPF accounts

• Tax benefits – The investment in PPF is an attractive option due to the various tax benefits attached to it. The interest earned on the investment each year is tax-free as is the entire accumulated fund at the time of maturity of the account. The contribution to the PPF account each year is also eligible for tax deduction under section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• Loans against PPF accounts - The investors can avail of a loan against their PPF account after the completion of one financial year from the end of the year in which the account was opened but before the completion of 5 years. An investor is not eligible for any loans after the completion of the 6th financial year from the year in which the account was opened.
• Withdrawal from the account - The investor is allowed to withdraw from his/her PPF account after the completion of 5 years from the year in which the account was opened. Withdrawals are restricted to one per year. Further details regarding the withdrawals from the account are discussed later.

Eligibility for PPF

The eligibility details under PPF are mentioned below.

• The basic criterion for eligibility under PPF is that a person needs to be a resident of the country.
• Age restrictions are not applicable under PPF.
• Investors are not allowed to hold the accounts jointly or transfer the account from one person to another.
• The scheme does not permit HUFs to invest or open a PPF account. 
• A person can also open an BOM PPF account on behalf of 
• Minor
• A person of unsound mind

The scheme places certain restrictions for parents to open a PPF account on behalf of their minor son or daughter, however, both the parents are not allowed to open a PPF account for the same minor child.

The grandparents of a minor can open a PPF account on behalf of their grandchild/grandchildren as their guardians if both the parents of such minor are dead or incapable of opening an account on their behalf.

• The scheme also does not permit an NRI to invest in PPF. If a person who has already invested in PPF becomes an NRI later, such person is allowed to continue to hold his/her investment in PPF till the maturity term of 15 years but will not get the benefit of extension of the account for blocks of 5 years each.

Documents required for BOM PPF Account

The documentation required by BOM to open a PPF account is fairly basic and simple.

• Account opening application

Form A (Duly filled and signed paper Form A/ Printout of Form A which is filled online).

• Self-attested copies of identity proof

Aadhaar, PAN, Driving License, Voter ID, etc.

• Self-attested copies of Address proof of the individual as per Know Your Customer (KYC) norms (Passport, Aadhaar Card, Electricity Bill etc.)
• Nomination Form E
• Two passport size photographs.

How to deposit money in your PPF account?

The contribution in PPF is subject to following deposit limits per year,

• Minimum Rs 500 
• Maximum Rs. 1,50,000

Such contribution in PPF can be made via any of the following ways,

• Direct debit from the existing BOM savings or current bank account of the investor.
• Online transfer from other bank account of investor via NEFT/ ECS
• Payment in cash or cheque or demand draft.

Loans against BOM PPF account

According to the scheme, the bank also allows the investors to avail loans against their PPF account subject to certain conditions. Some of the highlights pertaining to such loans are,

• The investor has to submit Form D along with a written application for applying for a loan with the bank.
• According to the rules of the PPF scheme, the PPF account of the investor is eligible for a loan after the completion of one financial year from the end of the year in which the account was opened but before the completion of 5 years.
• No loans can be availed after the completion of the 6th financial year from the year in which the account was opened.
• The bank allows an investor to apply for multiple loans against the PPF account provided the existing loan against the PPF account is duly paid/ settled.
• The loans have to be repaid in a maximum period of 36 months from the end of the month in which the loan was availed.
• Repayment has to be done in a maximum of one or two installments.
• The prevailing interest rate on loans against PPF is 1% per annum in case of loans taken on and after 12th December 2019 as against 2% per annum that was previously charged on such loans.
• In case of death of the investor before the repayment of the loan, such balance amount is to be settled by the nominee or the legal heir of the investor by adjusting the same from the final amount due to such nominee or the legal heir.

Withdrawal from PPF Account

Any withdrawal from the PPF account is allowed only after the maturity of the account i.e. after the completion of 15 years.

The investor can withdraw the entire corpus fund along with the interest accrued on such investment based on maturity and such withdrawal is eligible for tax exemption under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The investor is allowed to avail partial withdrawals from the PPF account after the 5 years from the end of the year in which the account was opened. Premature withdrawals from the PPF account are restricted to the extent immediately preceding the year in which the amount is to be withdrawn or at the end of the preceding year, whichever is less.

In case of extension of the account after maturity for a further block period of 5 years, the investor is eligible to make partial withdrawals which cannot be more than one per year subject to the condition that the total of the withdrawals during the 5 year block period cannot exceed 60% of the balance available in his/her account at the start of the said period. The investor can also withdraw the amount in a single installment as well. Such a limit on withdrawal is applicable for every extension of each block of 5 years.

In case of withdrawals from a minor’s account, such withdrawals have to be accompanied by a certificate which states that the amount withdrawn is the minor who is alive and still a minor.

Bank of Maharashtra PPF Customer care

Bank of Maharashtra has a 24x7 customer care service available for its customers to resolve all their queries and issues and also give their feedback. Customers can contact the customer care for general queries as well as any specific queries related to their PPF accounts.

Customers can contact the bank in the following ways.

• Toll free numbers – 1800 233 4526 / 1800 102 2636
• Landline numbers – 020 2610 4400 / 48527200

The customer care email id for the customers to report any issues/ complaints/ grievances is,

• hocomplaints[at]mahabank[dot]co[dot]in
• cmcustomerservice[at]mahabank[dot]co[dot]in

The customers can also contact the bank at its Head Office at the following address and telephone numbers.

Address – Bank of Maharashtra

     Central Office, ‘Lokmangal’

     1501, Shivajinagar

     Pune – 411005

Telephone No – 020 – 25532728

About Bank of Maharashtra PPF Account

Bank of Maharashtra is a public sector bank and is one of the pioneer banks in the country. It has a huge customer base across the country and abroad and has many customer specific savings schemes apart from the government savings schemes that are available with all the nationalized banks as well as a select few private sector banks.

Public Provident Funds is one such government savings scheme that the customers can invest in through any of the branches of Bank of Maharashtra across the country. PPF was introduced by the government with a view to provide retirement benefits to all the self employed persons and all the other citizens of the country who are not covered in the EPF scheme of the country. A person is also allowed to have both EPF as well as PPF accounts as they are not mutually exclusive savings instruments.

FAQs: Bank of Maharashtra PPF Account