Public Provident Fund (PPF)

While people are getting ready to file their ITR for the current financial year, at the same time they are also looking for some good tax-saving options to save some money forthe next financial year. And what option could be better than investing your money in the India’s safest investment option, which is Public Provident Fund (PPF)

However, visiting your bank every month to do so is a bit hectic for everyone. Hence, getting an option where you can perform the funds transfer toyour PPF account from within the comfort of your home is always welcomed.

With the public getting more and more tech-friendly, they prefer doing everything online rather than physically visiting banks or other organisations to perform a task. It not only helps them save their precious time but also let them save their money which they have to otherwise spend on fuel, etc.

Step-by-Step process to transfer funds from your savings bank account to your PPF account:

• Login to the netbankingportal of your bank (ICICI, SBI, HDFC, etc.).

• Click on the ‘Third Party’ option and start by adding your PPF account as a third-party beneficiary into your net-banking module. Here, it’s important to understand that name of the payee on the bank account should match with the name registered on the PPF account.

• After this, you need to choose the branch of the SBI bank which holds your PPF account. For instance, if your bank account is maintained by SBI branch at Janakpuri, New Delhi, you will require to mention the respective branch name.

• Once you have filled-in the necessary details and have submitted the form successfully, your PPF account will be registered on your net-banking account as a third party beneficiary. You can now initiate the transfer of funds from your bank account to your PPF account.

• In case you aren’t able to find your PPF account in the ‘linked account’ section, you can contact the customer service department of your bank and ask the representative on the call to do it on your behalf.

Once it’s done successfully, you can go ahead to update your PPF account as the beneficiary account. In case, it doesn’t work even after that, you can visit the nearest branch and get your PPF account linked to your savings bank account.

• It’s important to understand that you can transfer money from your savings account to your PPF account irrespective of the fact whether you PPF account and savings account are inthe same bank or not.

• Furthermore, you can also use the Standing Instructions option for the online crediting of funds to your PPF account on a regular basis.

Does netbanking service for PPF account work for all the banks?

Yes, almost all the banks that are supporting NEFT services such as SBI, ICICI, IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, etc. have this option of transferring your money to the SBI PPF account. All you need to do is to add it as a third party beneficiary into your bank account.

In case you are an NRI and have an existing PPF account, you can try this online facility to manage your PPF account actively and efficiently and save on your taxes at the same time.

You can claim your tax benefits on your PPF account intwo ways:

1. First, get your PPF passbook updated and submit the photocopy of your updated passbook as the investment proof.

1. Second, you can download your bank statement and submit its printout as the investment proof.

Now, if you are planning to visit your nearest SBI branch to get your PPF account activated, make sure to carry the below list of documents with you:

1. Account Activation Form
2. Pan Card Copy

• One photo ID and address proof (as specified in the guidelines

1. Nomination Form