NIHARIKA SHARMA | Updated: Oct 13, 2017, 05:19 PM IST, DNA webdesk
You might be getting constant messages from your banks urging you to link your Aadhaar card with the respective bank accounts. Failure to do so, your bank accounts will be blocked.
But do not panic. Those messages have a catch, yes, the government has made it mandatory to link the unique identity number with the bank account and the account will 'cease to be operational', if it has not been done. However, that won't happen before December 31.
What exactly the government has said?
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The Centre has set a deadline for banks to link customers' accounts to their Aadhaar by December 31 and if the customers do not do this, their accounts will be blocked.
So now, before December 31, no bank can make your account un-operational over not following the Aadhaar linking requirement.
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What does the rules say?
According to the Finance Ministry notification dated June 1, 2017, its mandatory for bank accounts that had been opened after June 1 to be linked with Aadhaar at the time of opening the account or within 6 months from the date of opening the bank account.
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The already existing accounts, as mentioned above, have time till December 31 to do the same.
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To impose the new rule, now the bank are not anymore opening up the new accounts without the 12 digit personal identification number.
Once blocked, can the accounts be reopened?
Yes, if a customer's account has been blocked due to non submission of the required documents then it can be unblocked if the person submits his/her Aadhaar number.
According to the finance ministry directive, "Provided that in case client already having an account based relationship with reporting entities prior to date of this notification fails to submit the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number by 31st December, 2017, the said account shall cease to be operational till the time the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number is submitted by the client."
But the notification did not mention about the time span when can the blocked account be retrieved.
Exemption to above rule:
According to the June notification, it's not necessary for the small accounts to link Aadhaar.
What are small accounts?
Small account is a kind of savings account where the balance at any given time does not exceed to Rs 50,000.
Also a small account need not to go beyond Rs 1 lakh when it comes to aggregate of all credits in a financial year.
Another condition that is applicable on such accounts is that the total of withdrawals and transfers in a month should not be exceeded to Rs 10,000.
Following are the guidelines for small accounts that are mentioned in the June 1 notification:
An individual who desires to open a small account in a banking company may be allowed to open such an account on production of a self-attested photograph and affixation of signature or thumb print, as the case may be, on the form for opening the account: Provided that-
(i) the designated officer of the banking company, while opening the small account, certifies under his signature that the person opening the account has affixed his signature or thumb print, as the case may be, in his presence;
(ii) the small account shall be opened only at Core Banking Solution linked banking company branches or in a branch where it is possible to manually monitor and ensure that foreign remittances are not credited to a small account and that the stipulated limits on monthly and annual aggregate of transactions and balance in such accounts are not breached, before a transaction is allowed to take place;
(iii) the small account shall remain operational initially for a period of twelve months, and thereafter for a further period of twelve months if the holder of such an account provides evidence before the banking company of having applied for any of the officially valid documents within twelve months of the opening of the said account, with the entire relaxation provisions to be reviewed in respect of the said account after 24 months.
