Jagoinvestor
July 9, 2012
Transfer PPF account from Post Office to SBI Bank
How do you transfer the PPF account from Post Office to SBI Bank? This has been a big question mark for all the PPF account holders who opened their PPF account in Post Office and now want to transfer PPF account to SBI Bank or other banks so that they can take benefits of online money transfer to their PPF accounts. Also, it becomes easy for them to do another kind of activities if the PPF account is in some bank.
So, in this article we will see the steps required to transfer PPF account from Post office to any Bank. In this example, we will use SBI as an example. But you can use the same procedure for any SBI Bank or its subsidiaries or even ICICI Bank which has recently started providing PPF accounts.
Steps required to Transfer PPF account from Post Office to SBI Bank
| Step 1 | The first step is to make sure your PPF Passbook is updated with all the interest credited to date. You need to go to the Post Office and get it updated. |
| Step 2 | Fill up following documents
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| Step 3 | Submit the form to Post Office Head PostMaster, He will verify your signature with the records at Post Office and verification will be completed. |
| Step 4 | The balance in your PPF account in Post Office will be taken out and your PPF account will be closed by Head Post Master and he will note the remark of Transfer of PPF Account to SBI Bank on all the relevant documents. |
| Step 5 | The balance amount in your PPF account will then be remitted back to State Bank of India through Cheque or Demand Draft along with other relevant documents. |
| Step 6 | Your PPF account will then be opened (transferred) at SBI Branch and you will be notified on this. It would be better to not wait for it and you yourself keep track of the progress. |
Go to SBI bank after all these steps are done and collect your new PPF Passbook. Note that all the previous entries of your Interest payments etc will not be present in the new PPF Passbook. It will only have the new and current entries now. So in-case you needed the previous information for claiming tax deductions, better take the printout of the previous PPF Passbook and keep photocopies of all the documents you filled and submitted for PPF Account Transfer. Read – How to open a PPF account at SBI Bank
What about the interest part when you Transfer the PPF account from Post Office?
Do you know How PPF interest is calculated? Its only a monthly basis , but credited yearly. Now as per PPF Rules, the bank or the post office transferring the account will add interest up-to-the preceding 31st March in the account before it is transferred. The interest from 1st April onwards will be added by the transferee office after the close of the year. As per rule 8 of the scheme the interest in the account has to be added at the end of the year and not in the middle of the year in any case. So make sure to ask and confirm from Post Office Postmaster if he will do this step or not. And once the PPF Account is transferred, at the end of the year, make sure you get the total interest in your account. Just verify it at the end of the year.
What Problems you are can you face while Transfer of PPF Account?
Problem 1: The biggest problem you will face is the ignorance SBI & Post office employees have about this whole process. I think the Post Office Employee has more information (and less ego) than SBI Employees. They might reject the whole idea and say “It’s not possible to transfer”.
In that case, take the print out of Rule 153 of this document which is at the Post Office website and clearly defines the rules to Transfer PPF Account from Post Office to SBI Bank. Another thing you can do is very humanly and in a soft voice, tell them you will file an RTI to know the process of PPF Transfer from Post Office to SBI Bank and would come back with that RTI query (Post Office and SBI comes under RTI incase you didn’t know). I am sure this will be enough to speed up the whole process.
Problem 2: Another problem you may face is documentation, I am not very sure if PAN card/Address proof is required or not and what other documents, but in that case again take the help of your Post Office Head Post Master, he will surely help you. If you are stuck at any point, use sentences like “I will file an RTI and …”. That might help you 🙂
Share your experiences, and problems you faced when you wanted to Transfer PPF Account from Post Office to SBI Bank or vice versa, were you waiting for this from many years?
Dear Manish
I opened my PPF account in PO Ashok Vihar Delhi in 1995 and transferred it to Sansad Marg PO New Delhi in 2009. Now, having moved to Dehradun from Delhi, on my request, Sansad Marg PO has transferred all PPF documents to Punjab National Bank Dehradun. The passbook of Sansad Marg PO starts from 2009. The PNB Dehradun is demanding passbook for the period 1995-2008 which Sansad Marg PO says is not available. PNB is now sitting on it.
What would be the solution and what action I can take
Thanks for guidance
The best thing I can think of is to file a RTI to find out the resolution on this.
Because of RTI , they are bound to share the exact process
PPF ACCOUNT TRANSFER POST OFFICE TO SBI BANK NO INTEREST PAID ONE YEAR ONLY SIX MONTHS INTEREST PAID PLZ HELP
Whats the question?
This article was very helpful for me. I recently shifted my PPF from Post Office to SBI for ease of operational convenience. Thank you so much
Thanks for your comment Sagar Bidkar
Sir,
Shall I maintain 2 PPF account, one in State Bank and another in Post Office?
Rajalakshmi, legally one is allowed to hold only one PPF account. Audits aren’t uncommonbecause PPF is a big commitment for the GoI (Modi government’s transparency drive!)
I frankly suggest, go with only one account preferably with a Public Sector Bank.
Also, do read this blog of Manish : It will help you take a very informed decision.
http://jagoinvestor.dev.diginnovators.site/2016/09/withdraw-ppf-from-any-branch.html?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletters#.V-zI6smAby0
Only 1 PPF is allowed per person
My younger son who lives outside India has PPF account in Post office at Vadodara . I am staying in Greater Noida in UP. PPF Account has matured and my son wish to withdraw? My elder son is in Vadodara.
Can my younger son get the PPF maturity amount without going to Vadodara or it can be transferred thro TRGS/NEFT to my younger son HDFC Bank Account in Greater Noida. My elder son if required can do all the co ordination work with the post office at Vadodara.
As of now I cant answer this with absolute clarity, but I will try to find out and make an article on this.
Manish
Hi
I thought of doing the transfer for both PPF and Sukanya Samridhi, but on second thoughts, going by the process awareness, service levels and efficiency of our Post office and Bank officials, we are sure to lose money on one of the ends. I will live with these accounts not getting online and await for one fine day when the Post office will make the accounts online – I hope to live for another 30 years and hope to see this happen before that!! 🙂
Thanks for your comment Krishna
I enquired in my post office branch. The postmaster said it is not possible! He asked me why I wanted to transfer to a bank. I said so that I can have online transaction facility. He said post office is also going to give online transaction facilities ‘shortly’. I asked how much time is ‘shortly’? He said that was anyone’s guess. So I left the matter for the time being 🙂
Thanks for your comment bkmurthy
Hi sir
Can u pls advice me that I have a ppf account in post office but now I can transfer this account to my Axis bank branch.. can I can do this & how can we do this??
Contact Axis bank on this , they will guide you with the process and give you the form to fill
Hi Manish Chauhan ,
This article is very useful for all during their PPF transfer time,
qq :Can i transfer my PPF account from Post office to my SBI join account?
Yes you can do that
Hello Manish
My ppf was transffered from sbbj to icici. Interest is not transferred. Whom to chase now?
File a RTI to post office !
Neeraj – You should chase ICICI for this. Please refer to the older comments where I had issues when I moved from PO to SBI. The rule says whichever institution has the account as of 31 Mar has to pay the interest.
Yes you can. For internet access they will give a new user id for the second account holder (if you already dont have). The reason given by SBI on this to me was since PPF is an individual account it will not appear if there is just one user if for joint accounts
Dear Sir, My account was transferred from Post office to SBI bank on Oct 2015, I now see the interest credited is only for the period of Oct 2015 to Mar 2016, the other 6 months where the PPF account was maintained in Post office , the interest is not seen in my account for that period.
Can you please guide me what need to be done for this. I asked SBI branch manager, he said Post master has to take care of this interest part.
Any suggestion would be of great help!!
Hi VenkateshBhagavath
I suggest that you now take the RTI route. You can file the RTI and ask your queries to them. THey are bound to reply you on your queries.
Its a bit long cut, but works well
Manish
Hello Manish,
I also have the exact case as Mr. Venkatesh Bhagavath. When I went to SBI Branch manager he told me we can’t credit interest, this will credit by post office. When went to Post office and talked with Post master he saying as per PPF rules entire year interest need to credit by where the account it operation on 31-March (so in this case SBI). But SBI manager not going to agree. Today on 8th Apr I got this messages from both the party.
So only way to know correct process is RTI? but confusion is how to file RTI and toward bank or post office?
Manish your guidance is most required as not credited interest is around 20000 Rs and which is big amount for me.
Thanks in advance.
Nitesh
File the RTI to post office because its managed by them only . But If I were at your place, I would have spend another Rs 10 and filed it with SBI also paralelly 🙂
Hi Nitesh – I filed an RTI and got a response on this. You will find this in the comments section (Older Comments). In your case the bank has to pay it. Follow up with the bank.
I’m yet another victim of this exact problem. All pains started after the transfer was done to SBI. The Post Office handled the paper works exactly as per the rule book. But the big villain is the pathetic nature of unawareness within SBI.
I had to escalate to SBI Corporate Headquarters, who put their foot down with a stern message to the concerned branch.
(Imagine this – the Branch Manager literally arguing as a fool saying why should I pay interest to you for a period that you have not had the account with us. I asked give me in writing that blew his fuse away!)
It is but more than apparent that a majority of SBI senior staff, operating at Branch Manager levels as well are totally unaware & don’t want to be aware either(until forced from Corporate HQ) of various rules surrounding financial products offered by MoSS(Ministry of Small Savings, GoI)
P.S: If you wondering about the resolution : well I’m still awaiting credit of the difference in interest which has rolled over the 2nd year now. I’ve been given a reply that the necessary interest will be credited on 31st,March 2017. Keeping my fingers crossed until then.
Hi Manish,
Could you please advise if the same process holds good for SSY (Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana) accounts as well? I have tried asking the Post Office officials to transfer my account to a Bank due to many limitations (most prominent being online transfer), but they refuse saying its not possible.
Thanks. Love your site! Been a long time reader. 🙂
Hi Prateek
I am not sure on that, but can you please try it once.. Nothing stops you from trying that. Add your SSY account number as a new account and try to transfer Rs 500 . see if it works. IN worst case, the money will be back in your account
Thanks Manish.
Update: I enquired at ICICI and SBI if I can transfer the account from Post Office to a Bank and the executives at both the banks were unaware. I guess they have not received any intimation from the Government on this. ICICI Bank website, however, states that this is possible.
Definately its possible. May be the person you talked to does not have an idea
Manish, Prateek : I’m not sure about the rules around SSY, but let me share my experience while attempting to transfer my PPF account from Post office to ICICI Bank. The guys @ ICICI sounded unclear(they were more than willing if one wanted to create a new account with them) & so I headed to the Post Office branch where I maintained my account. After being made to wait for quite sometime – I was treated with a big NO by the front staff. Not wanting to accept this, I met the PostMaster. That was when, the gentleman walked me through the rule book as given to them from the Ministry of Small Savings(PPF comes under that I think), which clearly stated transfer to be honored in the case of Public sector bank. He expressed helplessness due to this. Well, but that was back in 2014 : I’m not sure if the rules have been updated or not though. Hope this helps!
P.S.: Manish, I’m getting a fan of yours – honestly. I sincerely appreciate & salute your attempts towards a transparency drive. thank you again!
Thanks for sharing your experience Ansuman 🙂 . I think things must have changed by now .. Its really a pain to transfer the PPF from one place to another…
Can I close my post office ppf account and open a new account with my nearest SBI branch with the total amount as my initial deposit in month of say April/May
NO , why dont you just shift it there .
Dear Manish,
I am having PPF account in Post office as well as in SBI. Now, i want to transfer my Post office PPF account to SBI PPF account.
Kindly inform the procedure.
One person can have just one PPF account as per law, so better dont try to transfer else you will loose all interest on one of the PPF
Best month to transfer the PPF account from one bank to another 6th of April of year. But there also a chance of loose of interest for one month.
Thats correct !
MLT – You will not lose any interest even if you manage it get it transfered on 30 mar as well. The institution that has the account as on 31 Mar has to pay the complete year interest. Since the interest money comes from Min of Finance account they should not be bothered.
DO we need to open a savings account with the bank where we need to transfer the PPF ?
No
i tried in SBI and BOI, both banks rejected whole idea of transferring my PPF from post office to BANK…
is it possible to close PPF acount at Post office and open new PPF account in BANK… kindly suggest
Rejected means what ? On what grounds have they rejected it ? Use RTI now for this
I was able to transfer the PPF account from post office to SBI. You need do the following:
1) Check with SBI branch if they are ready to accept the transfer (Collect complete postal address and IFSC code of the branch)
2) Get the PPF passbook updated with latest transaction details at post office
3) Fill the transfer form from post office to SBI. (Mention complete address of SBI branch along with IFSC code)
4) Write a request to post master with reason for transfer on a plan paper
5) Submit original PPF passbook, transfer form, request letter and photo copy of PAN Card to the post office and get the acknowledgement.
6) Post office will send the details along with cheque to SBI branch
7) SBI branch will create the PPF account and link it to your SBI online account.
Hey Vijay
Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us. It was a great learning.
Manish
I had a very bitter experience transferring my PPF. I transferred mine from Post Office to SBI in December. So while transferring the 9 months interest lost. When I asked post office people they said on March 31st SBI will add the interest. In march SBI credited only 3 months interest. When I questioned them, they blamed the Post office people. Very irresponsible. I did some chakkars around their office for many days and finally gave up. I lost almost 1 year interest in this process. Very sad!!
Hi Shruti
I suggest that you now take the RTI route. You can file the RTI and ask your queries to them. THey are bound to reply you on your queries.
Its a bit long cut, but works well
Manish
Dont leave it at that point. File an RTI with PO and show it to the bank manager. I did that and got my interest… BTW you just did not lose 9 month’s interest… But also lost the compounding on it… If that gives you motivation now 🙂
The Ministry of Finance has categorically explained that in case of transfer of PPF from one Deposit to another, the Transferee Office (in your case State bank of India) has to provide interest for such transferred PPF Account for the whole of that year of transfer. The Transferor Deposit (in your case the Post Office) is NOT to provide any interest at all. See Question & Format – Note 2 at Page 28 in the detailed circular Issued vide Government of India, MOF (DEA) Notification No. GSR 1136 dated
15.6.1968 and further amended from time to time
Sir
You said above “……………………. tell them you will file an RTI to know the process of PPF Transfer from Post Office to SBI Bank and would come back with that RTI query (Post Office and SBI comes under RTI incase you didn’t know). I am sure this will be enough to speed up the whole process…………………….” Please may I know where to file the RTI and how to come back with the RTI querry…..Thanks
Manjari
Check this as example – http://jagoinvestor.dev.diginnovators.site/2012/03/rti-for-epf-withdrawal-or-transfer.html
Does anyone know where I can find a blank “form sb 10 b” to fill out?
Hi, I’ve opened a PPF account in Post office 7 years ago and I invested some money for 4 years and stopped investing there.. An year ago, I’ve opened an SBI PPF account and started investing money.. Now, I came to know that investing in 2 PPF account is illegal.. Now, can I transfer the Post office PPF to SBI? Will it lead to some confusion (like why 2 PPF accounts?)..
Thx
You can close one of the PPF . There is no transfer concept !