Public Provident Fund Withdrawal Rules and Process

Key Points to Know about PPF Accounts

Public Provident Fund is a government initiated long term investment scheme which accumulates regular interests on the deposited amount. The rate of interest payments in PPF are comparatively higher than other fixed and recurring deposit schemes of banks. PPF investments range from Rs.500 to Rs.1,50,000 and it comes with a lot of benefits including tax exemption. The scheme allows for partial withdrawals in times of emergency but the option of complete withdrawal is available only after 15 years from the date of enrollment.

PPF account allows one to make complete withdrawals only after the policy attains maturity i.e., at the end of the 15th year.
The interest rates on PPF accounts are notified by the government from time to time and for the fiscal year 2016 it is 8.7% per annum.
Partial withdrawals are allowed only after completion of five years from the date of initial subscription.
The maximum amount that one can deposit in a PPF account is Rs.1.5 lakhs.

How to Check Your PPF Account Balance

If you have enabled net banking, then you can check your PPF balance in a few quick steps. Just login to the bank’s website using your credentials and under the PPF section click on balance information. It will list out all the details pertaining to deposits made, interests accrued, and the current PPF balance. Some banks also provide the option of linking your PPF account to a different savings bank account. But generally, PPF accounts and savings accounts are maintained by the same bank. Apart from checking your PPF balance, the banking portal allows you to transfer funds online. The online facility also allows you to give standing orders so that a fixed amount will be deposited to your PPF account on a regular basis.

Knowing your PPF Withdrawal Status

Similar to checking your PPF account balance, you can have all the information related to withdrawals by simply accessing your bank account through internet banking. Checking the claim status online is possible only in the banks which accept online deposits. For post office accounts, you will need to visit the branch in person and file a request to know your PPF withdrawal status.

PPF Accounts Features

Feature	Description
The level of reliability	Maintained by the government, hence it’s highly reliable
Type of investment	Small to medium
Investment tenure	15 years
Minimum deposit for account opening	Rs.100
Minimum yearly deposit	Rs.500
Maximum yearly deposit	Rs.1,50,000
Installments of payments	12 per year
Tax benefits	Investments up to Rs.1,50,000 are fully exempt from tax.

Loan Facility for PPF Accounts

PPF loans are one of the best options to finance your short term requirements. If you compare personal loans offered by banks with that of PPF loans, the latter proves to be much beneficial in terms of interest rates. The interest rates on bank offered personal loans can be anywhere from 14% to 21%, whereas PPF loans are available at rates below 11% per annum. Given below are the key benefits of PPF loans:

The rate of interest on loans is roughly 2% more than the interest offered on the deposits. The Ministry of Finance has set the interest rate on deposits for this financial year at 8.7% per annum.
Similar to personal loans, the borrower does not have to pledge his assets for obtaining a PPF loan.
PPF subscribers can apply for loans only between the 3rd and 5th financial year from the date of enrollment. But the loan facility will be discontinued from 7th year.
The loan sanctioned will always be 25% of the PPF balance in account at the end of the fiscal year that preceded the application year.
The principal amount is to be repaid within 36 months, either as lump sum or as periodic installments.
Only after repayment of the first loan can one apply for a second loan.

PPF withdrawal forms

Form A	For PPF account opening
From B	Account deposit slip used for fund deposits or loan repayments
Form C	Form for partial withdrawal request
Form D	Form for PPF loan request
Form E	For adding PPF nominee
Form F	Change in nomination of the PPF account
Form G	Claim settlement form (in case of account holder’s death)
Form H	Form for extension of term period after maturity

PPF Withdrawal from SBI

As discussed above, the PPF withdrawal rules are same for withdrawing from SBI or any other bank in India. SBI account holders can partially withdraw after completion of 5 years and the maximum withdrawal limit is 50% of the amount retained in the preceding year. But additionally, SBI offers a wide range of benefits including easy transfer of PPF account to any of its branches and online access.

List of Banks Providing PPF Facility

The following banks allow customers to open PPF accounts in India. However, it is to be noted that not all branches of these banks are authorized to do so. Therefore, kindly check the branch details of the bank you intend to open a PPF account.