No court in India can attach your EPF, PPF, NPS balance.
New Delhi: If you have taken a loan and failed to repay then banks through an attachment order by the court can claim your assets such as your land, shares, mutual funds, etc to compensate the loan amount. This attachment order is commonly known as freezing order.
If your assets are attached then you can not use or sell it. However, the Parliament of India has placed various financial assets under special legal protection which cannot be attached by any Indian court. Given below is the explanation of these assets-
Employee Provident Fund (EPF)-
It is important to know that the balances in Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) and Employee’s Pension Scheme (EPS) are protected under Section 10 of the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. EPF is the balance accumulated the employee during his employment. It comprises of 12 per cent of the basic salary and dearness allowance from the employee’s contribution and 8.33 per cent towards EPS and 3.67 per cent towards EPF from the employer’s contribution. Since it is useful for social security, EPF is given special legal protection.
Public Provident Fund (PPF)-
Your balance in Public Provident Fund (PPF) is protected under Section 14A of the Government Savings Act, 1873. All Indian residents from the organized and unorganized sector are eligible to make a contribution in this. The annual contribution ranges from Rs 500 to Rs 1.5 lakh. According to a recent notification from the finance ministry, the interest rates on small savings schemes including PPF will continue to carry an annual interest rate of 8 per cent for the April-June quarter. Owing to its long term nature of the investment, it can be used for retirement.
National Pension System (NPS)-
The Balance in your National Pension System (NPS) account is protected under Section 6(a) of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA) (exits and withdrawals) Rules, 2015, except for the 25 per cent of the accumulated balance. For the first quarter of the financial year 2019-20 starting April 1, 2019, and ending on June 30, 2019, the interest rate on the NSC is 8 per cent.
