If you also have an inactive PPF account, then this article is for you. The Public Provident Fund, or PPF, is one of the favorite schemes of investors. Through this long-term scheme, people add a lot of money. Also, tax benefits are also available under the Income Tax Act 80C in this scheme. In this scheme, which matures in 15 years, deposits can be made from Rs 500 to Rs 1.5 lakh every year. To continue the account, it is necessary to deposit a minimum amount in it every year. Failure to do so will deactivate your account.
If your PPF account has also become inactive and you want to activate it again, then know how to do it. Apart from this, if you have invested in PPF for 5 years but could not continue, will you get the benefit of interest on the amount deposited in an inoperative account? Understand here.
How to activate an inactive PPF account
The facility of reactivating the inactive account of PPF is given to the investors. You can start again anytime before maturity. For this, the depositor has to go to the post office or bank, wherever he has an account. There will be a written application to start the PPF account again. Also, for the number of years your payment has lapsed, you have to pay a minimum deposit of Rs 500 + Rs 50 as default fee every year. Suppose your account has been closed for three years, then you have to deposit at least Rs 1500 and Rs 150 default fee for three years. After this, your account will be continued again.
Do you get the benefit of interest on an inactive account?
Even if the PPF account is inactive, interest continues to be paid on the amount deposited in it. But there are also many disadvantages to an account being inactive. The first is that you are not able to reach the goal with which you started investing in it. Secondly, there is no loan/withdrawal facility on an inactive account.
Apart from this, the thing to keep in mind is that the lockin period of a PPF account is 15 years. You can activate an inactive account before 15 years; after that, you will not get this opportunity. But if your account is already active and you want to take advantage of the scheme even further, then in such a situation, investors get the facility to extend the PPF account to a block of 5–5 years.
