PPF Account Extension: New form and process to extend account after maturity

For those who wish to extend the PPF account instead of Form H or Form 4, which were used earlier, now there is a common application form.

The Public Provident Fund (PPF) subscribers have the option to extend the PPF account after the end of 15 years. Thereafter, the PPF account can be extended in a block of 5 years. However, if the depositor wants to extend the account by making fresh deposits, one needs to inform the post office about the extension. To do so, one has to apply through a specific application form, which has to be submitted within one year of maturity.

A new PPF extension form has been introduced now. Those who wish to extend the PPF account need to fill a new common form instead of Form H or Form 4, which were used earlier. One has to mention the account number, the account opening and maturity date, and submit to the post office to apply for an extension of the PPF account.

Those whose PPF accounts have matured on March 31, 2020, may submit the scanned copy of the Account Extension form, duly signed, to the Post Office through a registered post to the respective Post office. However, the original copy of the same will have be submitted to the concerned account office, once the lockdown is lifted in the country or concerned area, as the case may be.

Those PPF depositors whose accounts had matured on 31.03.2020, including the period of one year for the extension, and could not be extended due to the lockdown, were given an extension to extend their PPF account by submitting the prescribed form before 30.06.2020.

A Public Provident Fund (PPF) account gets matured after the completion of 15 years from the end of the year in which the account was opened. So, no matter when you have opened your PPF account, the maturity will be in the month of April.

On maturity after 15 years, a PPF account holder has the option to extend the tenure for a block period of 5 years beyond the maturity period within one year from the date of maturity. Such extension may be done indefinitely in a block of five years. As the maturity will fall in April, the option to extend with fresh contributions is available till April of the next year.

Also, just in case of lockdown in the country, in April or anytime after that if you realise that you had not invested even the minimum amount in PPF in the previous year, your PPF account would have turned inactive. A penalty of Rs. 50 will be levied per year of default if you do not deposit the minimum deposit amount of Rs. 500 on the completion of the financial year.