Now, one can change nominee details in a Public Provident Fund (PPF) account without any fee. The Finance Ministry has notified the removal of the fee.
“In the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018, in Schedule II, under ‘Fee to be charged for services,’ the words and figures ‘(b) Cancellation or change of nomination – ₹50’ shall be deleted,” a notification by the Finance Ministry stated. The change has been made effective from April 2.
In a social media post, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that she was recently informed about a fee being levied by financial institutions for updating or modifying nominee details in PPF accounts.
“Necessary changes are now made in the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018, via Gazette Notification 02/4/25 to remove any charges on the updation of nominees for PPF accounts,” she said.
Further, she highlighted that the Banking Amendment Bill, 2025, passed recently, allows nomination of up to four persons for the payment of depositors’ money, as well as for articles kept in safe custody and safety lockers.
With the help of the proposed law, deposit holders or locker holders can name up to four persons as nominees for the payment of depositors’ money, the release of contents from safety lockers, and the return of articles kept in safe custody with banks. Currently, only one nominee is permitted.
The change, however, is subject to certain conditions. In the case of deposits, up to four nominees will be permitted with two options. Either the primary holder(s) must give priority to all four nominees or specify the share of each nominee. If priority is assigned, the nomination will be effective only in favour of one person in the specified order of priority.
Published on April 3, 2025
