Investing in a Post Office Savings Scheme? Make sure PAN-Aadhaar details match - here’s why it’s important

Investing in a Post Office Savings Scheme? It’s important to note that the post office will verify the accuracy of your Permanent Account Number (PAN) details by cross-referencing them with the Income Tax Department's records.
This process ensures that your PAN is linked to your Aadhaar and that the name and date of birth you provided are accurate. As of April 1, 2023, it is compulsory to submit PAN and Aadhaar details when investing in post office schemes.If any discrepancies are found, you may be unable to invest in these schemes, states an ET report by Sneha Kulkarni.
To validate PANs, the CBS system is integrated with the Protean e-Gov Technologies (formerly NSDL) system. The Finacle system validates PANs based on the responses received from the Protean system. This system was operational until April 30, 2024. As stated above, PAN, Aadhaar card have become mandatory for making investments in PPF, NSC, other small savings schemes.
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According to a notification issued by the Department of Post on May 7, 2024, the Protean system for PAN validation has been updated as of May 1, 2024. Appropriate changes are being developed to prevent manual intervention in the future, including (i) restricting the acceptance of PANs in case of specific responses.
Moreover, in line with Rule 6 of the Government Savings Promotion General Rules 201g, amended via notification No. G.S.R. 238(E) and circulated through SB order No. 8/2023 dated 03.04.2023, it is mandatory to accept valid PANs from depositors when any of the following events occur:
1. The balance at any point of time in the account exceeds Rs 50,000; or
2. The aggregate of all credits in the account in any financial year exceeds Rs 1 lakh; or
3. If the total withdrawals and transfers from the account in a month exceed Rs 10,000; (b) In cases where the conditions mentioned in paragraph (a) do not apply, depositors should not be compelled to submit PAN mandatorily when opening an account. Accounts may be opened by obtaining Form-60, which should be replaced with PAN by depositors within two months from the date of any of the events specified in paragraph (a) above, whichever occurs first.