Bengaluru: Thousands of RD account holders in the post offices of the city, mostly women from lower-middle class and poor families, are facing a major obstacle. They can’t withdraw their RD amounts even though their deposits have matured for withdrawal. Reason: They don’t have PAN cards.
Their predicament began a few weeks ago when postal department officers stipulated that the women had to submit their PAN card details before their money could be released via their post office savings accounts.
But these women are clueless about applying for a new PAN card or providing the required documents. Worsening their woes is misinformation that once they get their PAN cards they’ll need to pay income tax every year!
These women account holders say PAN cards were not mandatory when they first started depositing. “I began my RD account five-and-a-half years ago. It matured six months back but I can’t withdraw the amount now, since they want a PAN card for all withdrawals or deposits above Rs 50,000. I saved Rs 1,000 in my RD account every month. Now my son says if I get a PAN card I may be asked to file IT returns every year,” said Parvathi SK Ithal, a resident of Malleswaram.
“Postal department officials are also speaking about TDS. I saved this amount from my husband’s pension. It’s unfair,” she added.
The postal officials are not unsympathetic. “We have brought this problem to the notice of the higher-ups. Generally the women who use the postal department saving schemes belong to the poorer segment of society. Now we are burdened with the extra task of finding agents who offer PAN card services, to help these women. Many of these agents try to cheat them,” said a postal department officer.
