Post Office Savings Account: Check New Penalty Rules For Non-Maintenance of Minimum Balance

The penalty for failing to maintain the required minimum balance in a post office savings account has been cut by half. According to a notification released by the Ministry of Finance on April 9, 2021, the account maintenance fee for failing to maintain a minimum balance in a post office savings account has been lowered from Rs 100 to Rs 50 including GST. This was done due to a modification in the Post Office Savings Account Scheme 2019 regulations. The account holder must keep a minimum balance of 500 rupees in post office savings accounts, according to the current guidelines. The account holder is fined if the minimum balance slips below 500 rupees by the end of the fiscal year. This fine was formerly set at Rs 100, but it has now been lowered to Rs 50. (inclusive of GST). Furthermore, if the deposit balance becomes zero due to the deduction of account maintenance fees, the post office savings account will be automatically closed.

In addition, if the required balance in the post office savings account is not maintained, interest will not be charged. Silent accounts are therefore subject to the minimum balance clause. Silent accounts are those in which no transactions have occurred for three consecutive financial years, i.e., no money has been deposited or withdrawn. Other types of penalties are imposed in addition to the non-maintenance of the minimum balance. An individual can withdraw funds from a savings account for free up to four times per month. After that, each withdrawal incurs a fee of 0.50 percent of the total amount, or Rs 25. This fee is only applied to withdrawals; no fee is applied to deposits. If you have a savings or current account in addition to the basic savings account, you can withdraw up to Rs 25,000 per month without incurring any fees. And after that, you will be fined a fee of 0.50 percent of the total amount withdrawn, or a minimum of 25 rupees, each time you withdraw funds. There is no fee if you make a cash deposit of up to Rs 10,000 in a month. After the cash deposit limit is reached a fee of Rs 20 is charged on every deposit. You must also pay a minimum of Rs 1 and a maximum of Rs 20 to issue a mini statement.