The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is an Indian government-backed savings scheme. It aims to promote the financial well-being of female children. This scheme was launched by the Government of India under its ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign. The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana encourages parents or guardians to create a long-term savings account for their female children. If you, too, are invested in this scheme, you must know how to use your Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook online to check your investment status from time to time.
Many investors save via this scheme to create a long-term corpus for the education and marriage expenses of the girls in their families. It is best to start early to reap maximum benefits under this scheme. The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme also encourages you to open an account for a girl child under 10 years. Any parent or legal guardian of the child can open this account.
You can check your investment status and returns using the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook.
This article explains how to use the SSY account passbook to check your account balance, offline or online. It also talks in detail about the taxation related to SSY, how this account can be transferred if required and how one can exit the SSY accountif needed. Read on to make informed choices.
What is the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook?
The SSY passbook is a document/ entry booklet that serves as a record of transactions and details related to your SSY account. This passbook is provided to the account holder upon application at the time of opening the SSY account.
The passbook of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana contains vital information about the account including the holder’s name, DOB, account number, address, date of account opening, maturity date and the updated savings amount.
Therefore, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook is an important tool to monitor and manage the account and the savings under the scheme. The depositor must submit the SSY account passbook both when making a deposit and at the time of account closure.
If the passbook of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account is regularly updated, you can keep track of your account balance online as well as via the booklet.
How to Get The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Passbook
You may not be given an SSY account passbook at the time of account opening. Therefore, if you want it, you must apply for the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook online.
To do so, the account holder needs to download an application form from their respective bank’s website. One can also apply from the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook online post office link on the website.
Once you have the application form, fill it duly and submit it to the nearest authorised branch of your bank or post office. Post verification you will be issued the passbook of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.
Note that this passbook does not come at any additional fee. You can apply and get it free of cost.
The Process to Check Sukanya Samriddhi Account Balance
If you want to check your Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account balance, there are two ways of doing it. These are –
- Offline – Through the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook
- Online – Through the electronic passbook on the SSY website
Let us discuss both methods.
Offline Method
This method will require you to go to the nearest post office or your bank’s branch where you have opened the SSY account. Carry your SSY account passbook along. Give the passbook to the teller or any available helpdesk executive for updating.
Either the bank/post office will have an auto passbook updation machine, where you will simply scan it to get it updated, or someone will physically take your passbook to check it online and print its latest updates. You can then check your account balance with ease.
Online Method
To update your Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook online and check your account balance, you must have opened your account with a bank that offers the facility of online SSY account passbook updation.
Here is how you can check the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook online:
- Log in to your bank SSY account on your internet banking portal using the login credentials you gave at the time of account opening.
- Next, go to the homepage of your SSY account and check the balance on the dashboard.
- If you click to see the last few detailed transactions, you will see the digital Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook online.
- Note that this portal just helps you check your SSY account passbook online. It does not allow for deposits or withdrawals.
If your bank does not have this facility, then you will have to follow the offline procedure only because it is not possible to update the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana post office passbook online. The post office does not have this option as of now.
You can, however, deposit to your SSY account using the post office app called the Indian Post Payments Bank (IPPB) app. Simply download the app, link it to your bank and set standing instructions for monthly payment transfers to your SSY account. Once a transfer is made, the app will send you an alert.
Taxation on Sukanya Samriddhi
The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) scheme features an Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE) status. According to this, the investors in the scheme can claim tax deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
The scheme features deductions of up to INR 1.5 lakhs. This implies that if an investor is investing INR 1.5 lakh in the scheme in a financial year, then the whole investment becomes tax-deductible.
Not only is the principal tax deductible, but the interest on the investment is also tax-exempt, and one does not have to pay any tax on the maturity amount or even when you withdraw the money prematurely.
Due to its EEE status, the SSY scheme becomes a great investment option to build a considerable corpus for your kids’ future.
How to Transfer the SSY account?
If you want to transfer your Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana accountfrom a post office to your bank, here are the steps to follow:
- Go to the post office branch where you have your account. You needn’t take the child along. The depositor can go by himself/herself.
- Convey your intent to transfer to the post office executive.
- You can then submit a transfer form to the PO after filling it duly. You will be asked to share your passbook along with the KYC documents.
- Upon your request, the executive will discontinue your account at the post office.
- The next step is to go to the bank where you want your SSY account to continue.
- Contact the bank executive for the same and, when asked, submit the KYC documents after self-attesting. There may be some more paperwork required. Duly follow the same and submit as required.
- After processing your request, the bank executive will issue a new passbook to you, and the account transfer will be complete.
- You can transfer your SSY account anywhere in India the same way from any post office to any bank or any other post office or vice versa. This kind of transfer involves a minimal fee payment of Rs 100 only.
How to Exit the Sukanya Samriddhi Account?
There are two ways of exiting the SSY account – One is upon maturity, and the other is premature closure of the account, which is possible only under certain circumstances. Read on to find out:
Exit SSY Account upon maturity:
- When the account completes a tenure of 21 years, your Sukanya Samriddhi account is mature, and you can now withdraw the invested principal and the interest accrued on it.
- The accumulated balance is paid to the beneficiary once the application form for withdrawal is submitted.
- To do so, you must provide an ID proof with the form. A residence proof and citizenship proof are also needed.
- However, in case the withdrawal application is not submitted the account is considered close but dormant and does not earn any interest beyond 21 years.
Exit SSY Account Prematurely:
The premature closure of the SST account is permitted only under certain circumstances. These include –
- When the girl child reaches 18 years of age, and funds are needed for her marriage the same year, premature closure of the account can be applied and is permitted. Make sure that the application is sent within one month before the marriage or three months after it. The girl’s age-proof documents are a must.
- If the girl child beneficiary dies due to any reason, there is a provision for premature account closure. The death certificate is needed in such a case, and the whole corpus of the scheme is paid to the guardian, including the interest.
- If the girl child becomes an NRI or a citizen of another country, then this change of status can lead to premature account closure. The related documents will have to be submitted by the guardian within a month of the change of status.
- If the death of the guardian or poor health of the girl child leads to difficulty in the continuation of the account (which must be at least five years old), it can be closed prematurely.
Loan Against SSY
While there are many deposit schemes against which the GOI allows loans to be taken, the same is not permitted in the case of the Sukanya Samridhi Yojana Scheme.
Presently, investors cannot borrow at all against this deposit scheme, and neither can any investment made towards this account be held as security for a loan.
Investors, however, can opt for a partial withdrawal of funds once the girl child reaches 18 years of age and use them as they please for the child’s higher education, etc. Partial withdrawal of up to 50% of the amount is allowed.
Conclusion
Now that you have understood the many aspects of the SSY account, it must be clear why maintaining the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana passbook online or offline is so important. Make sure to keep your passbook updated to manage and maintain your funds in a well-organized manner. This always comes in handy at the time of transfer or withdrawal.
FAQ’s:-
The calculator typically takes inputs such as the initial deposit amount, frequency of deposits, and the current interest rate. Using these inputs, it calculates the maturity amount based on the compound interest formula.
While the passbook itself may not be required for tax filing, the information contained in it is crucial for claiming tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
If you notice any discrepancies or errors in your SSY passbook, it’s important to bring them to the attention of the bank or post office where the SSY account is maintained. They will assist you in rectifying the issue.
In case of a lost SSY passbook, you should contact the bank or post office promptly. They will guide you through the process of obtaining a duplicate passbook, which may involve certain documentation and formalities.