Know everything about FORM H for the PPF Account

Do you know which is the safest tax-free savings scheme in India? The answer is not tough. It's the Public Provident Fund (PPF).

Introduced in 1968, the sole aim of this scheme was to offer investors a way to save money and grow their wealth in time with high returns. Another benefit of the PPF is related to income tax returns. Any balance in PPF is not subjected to wealth and income tax!

List of Forms Associated with PPF Scheme

Forms                               Meaning
Form A     To open a PPF account
Form B     To make a deposit into account/make repayment of loan
Form C     To obtain the partial withdrawal
Form D     To request a loan 
Form E     For making a nominee
Form F     For making changes to the account details
Form G     To claim funds in the account by legal heir/nominee
Form H     For extending the tenure of the account    
                                    

The ABC of Form H

The main purpose of Form H is to extend the tenure of the account.

The account after the tenure of 15 can be extended in the block of 5 years. Form H is required for selecting whether fresh contributions to be added to the account or not. By this manner new contributions can be added to the already existing account. Interest can also be gained on the same.

Importance of Form H

Account holder can withdraw the amount after the maturity of 15 years. At the same there are other options which are also available to the account holder. In case, there is no update regarding the withdrawal after maturity, the account gets extended further as it is assumed that the account holder wanted to extend the tenure. This process takes place even without filling of Form H.

No fresh contributions can be made to the PPF Account without filling of the Form H. The form needs to be filled 1 year prior to that of the PPF maturity. In case of absence of Form H, it will be a problem for the purpose of tax benefits as any interest or fresh deposit will be treated as void.

Where to Find Form H?

Form H for the PPF purpose can be downloaded from bank's official website. Also the same can be downloaded from the website of Post Office. The same can be filled accordingly submitted for further process.