Nobody plans for this. But every year, lakhs of families go to the post office with a death certificate and one question: can you give me my father’s money?
The answer depends on two things. What scheme the account sits in, and whether you filled in a nomination years ago.
Because the same death, the same nominee, and the same post office produce opposite outcomes depending on which account it is.
Key facts. What happens to a post office account on death depends on the scheme, not on the nominee. A KVP, NSC or RD may continue — but only if there are not more than three surviving nominees or legal heirs, who choose between payout and continuation. A PPF, SSY or savings account closes and is paid out to the nominee or legal heir. A nomination is not a will. The Supreme Court has held that inheritance rights are a subservient right, so nomination decides who the post office pays and how fast, while the will decides who finally owns the money. With no valid nomination, the post office may pay on affidavit and indemnity up to ₹5 lakh per account without legal evidence; above that a family needs a succession certificate, or a legal heir certificate from a revenue authority not below Tahsildar. Interest keeps running after death — in a PPF until the end of the month before payment — and any loan interest is deducted before anyone is paid. On the tax side, PPF, SSY and NSC interest is entirely exempt; SCSS interest is not, and section 153 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 gives capped relief of ₹10,000 (₹50,000 for senior citizens) on it.
The problem
A savings account, a Kisan Vikas Patra, a recurring deposit, a PPF — these are just accounts. The money sits with the Department of Posts. When the holder dies, the account does not know what to do with itself.
Somewhere you must tell it. And two instruments get confused constantly: a nomination and a will.
First: nomination is NOT a will
A will tells the world who should get your property after you die. It goes through a court, it can be challenged, and it takes months.
A nomination is much simpler. You tell the post office: “If I die, give this money to my wife.”
You may nominate one or more individuals, but not exceeding four — that cap is in the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018 (GSPR), rule 14(1). (Section 4(1) of the Government Savings Promotion Act, 1873 says only “one or more individuals”; the four-person limit is the rule’s.)
The nominee receives the money either as an owner or as a trustee — and rule 14(1)(c) makes you choose which, at the time you fill the form:
- nominee receives the amount with absolute and exclusive right of ownership, or
- nominee receives it as a trustee for the benefit of the legal heirs
Read that second one carefully. It is the whole ballgame.
Why courts say the nominee is not the owner
The Supreme Court was blunt in Indrani Wahi v. Registrar of Co-operative Societies (10 March 2016). The Court held that the rights of others on inheritance or succession are a subservient right:
“Only if a member had not exercised the right of nomination under Section 79, then and then alone, the existing share or interest of the member would devolve by way of succession or inheritance.”
For an ordinary family: the post office is bound to pay the nominee quickly, without dragging anyone into court. The nominee does not become the owner by default. But the family keeps its right to ask for its share later.
Nomination decides who the post office pays, and how fast. A will decides who finally owns the money. Different instruments, different jobs.
The part readers get wrong: closed, or continued?
This is the real divide, and it is not nominee-versus-no-nominee. It is scheme-by-scheme.
After the death, the account either closes — money is paid out and the account ends — or it is continued, meaning the nominee or legal heirs now hold a deposit of their own, in the same scheme, running to its own maturity.
Same post office. Same death certificate. Opposite results.
| Scheme | On death | Cite |
|---|---|---|
| PPF | Account closes. Nominee or legal heir may not continue it. | Para 14(1) |
| SSY | Account closes on death. Balance to the guardian. | Para 7(1) |
| POSA (savings account) | Account closes. Balance paid to nominee or legal heir. | Para 5(5) + GSPR r. 15 |
| NSC | Continuation allowed — up to three surviving nominees or legal heirs, at their option. | Para 9 |
| KVP | Continuation allowed — same three-survivor limit, at their option. | Para 9(2) |
| RD | Continuation allowed — same three-survivor limit. Plus a small-account floor. | Para 12(2), para 13 |
The three clauses that allow continuation
KVP. Kisan Vikas Patra Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 920(E) of 12 December 2019), paragraph 9(2):
“Where there are not more than three surviving nominees or legal heirs, they may, at their option continue the account and receive the amount of deposit alongwith interest on maturity in the manner provided for in this scheme, as if they had opened the account themselves.”
NSC. National Savings Certificates (VIII Issue) Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 919(E) of 12 December 2019) carries a materially the same provision in para 9. (NSC reads “along with interest” where KVP reads “alongwith” — same rule, different drafting. NSC’s numbering also restarts at a second sub-paragraph (2) for this clause, so citing bare “para 9” is the safe form.)
RD. National Savings Recurring Deposit Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 918(E) of 12 December 2019), paragraph 12(2):
“Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-paragraph (1), if there are upto three surviving nominees or legal heirs, they may continue the account and receive repayment of the amount inclusive of interest, in the manner provided for in this Scheme, as if the account had been opened themselves…”
The same three-survivor cap runs across all three. Two heirs can continue. Four cannot.
Note where that cap lives. KVP, NSC and RD each contain their own death paragraph, and each ends with an “Application of General Rules” clause — KVP para 10, NSC para 10, RD para 17 — which imports the General Rules “so far as may be.” That is the route by which GSPR r. 15(5) reaches these schemes: where the survivor is a minor, payment goes to the person appointed at nomination to receive it during the minor’s minority, or failing that the minor’s guardian. So in a KVP, NSC or RD, a minor’s nominee does not simply take over.
And the one that forbids it
PPF. Public Provident Fund Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 915(E) of 12 December 2019), paragraph 14(1):
“In the event of the death of the account holder, the account shall be closed and the nominee or the legal heir shall not be allowed to continue the account.”
And paragraph 14(2):
“The balance in the account of the deceased account holder shall earn interest till the end of the month preceeding the month in which the eligible balance is paid to the nominee or the legal heir, as the case may be.”
(Some secondary sites renumber this clause as their own item 12. The gazette, the NSI-hosted scheme text and the courts all read para 14. If a post office quotes a different number, this is why.)
So the practical question is answerable in one line:
In a KVP, NSC or RD, the family can keep the deposit running to maturity. In a PPF, the money comes out — in full, at maturity value.
The PPF clause is not punitive. Interest still runs until the month before payment (para 14(2)), and you receive the full eligible balance — not a premature-closure discount.
Two corrections worth making
A savings account cannot be continued after death. The Post Office Savings Account Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 921(E) of 12 December 2019) contains no death-continuation clause at all. Its only continuation provision is para 3(2), which applies to a surviving joint-account holder — not to a nominee. Death is dealt with at para 5(5), and that is an interest-dating rule. For a savings account the operative provision is GSPR r. 15, and it is a payment, not a continuation. POSA para 10 imports the General Rules only “so far as may be” — and r. 15 is squarely about payment on death.
Check the tenor before you assume a KVP term. Under KVP para 5(1), “Deposit made in the account shall double on maturity,” and the maturity period is ten years and four months for accounts opened on or after 1 April 2020 (para 5(1A)), against nine years five months before that date. Which applies is fixed by para 5(2), on the interest rate applicable “at the time of opening the account” — so it is the original opener’s date that decides, not the nominee’s.
If you are reading older advice
Advice quoting the 1981-era rules is out of date — but be careful about how. RD continuation is live law. The old National Savings Recurring Deposit Rules, 1981 said one or two surviving nominees; the current 2019 scheme says up to three (para 12(2)). The substance was never wrong; the count was.
The instruments behind that vintage were rescinded by G.S.R. 912(E) of 12 December 2019, which repealed eight sets of rules “with immediate effect” — item (iii) being “The National Savings Recurring Deposit Rules, 1981, published vide number G.S.R. 666(E), dated the 17th December, 1981.” The siblings include the POSA Rules 1981 (663(E)), NSC Rules 1989 (496(E)), KVP Rules 2014 (705(E)), SCSS Rules 2004 (490(E)), MIS Rules 1987 (701(E)) and SSY Rules 2016 (323(E)). G.S.R. 913(E) separately rescinds the Public Provident Fund Scheme, 1968. GSPR rules 25 and 26(1) are a different repeal, of three instruments, correct only for those three.
If advice cites a number you cannot match to a current gazette, check it against the scheme’s own text before acting.
Who may be paid, and how
Three bases of settlement apply (Ministry of Finance circular of 28 August 2020; India Post guidelines of 10 January 2023):
- Nomination
- Legal evidence — probate, letters of administration, or a succession certificate
- Without legal evidence, at the sanctioning authority’s discretion, up to ₹5 lakh
A nomination is in force
The nominee applies in the prescribed claim form (Form 11 under the General Rules; Form 2 under the NSC scheme) to the accounts office, with the proof of death.
- Two or more surviving nominees get the balance in the proportions specified. No proportion specified? Equally (GSPR r. 15(3)).
- One nominee dies? Their share goes to the surviving nominees in the same proportion as their shares (r. 15(4)).
- Nominee is a minor? Payment goes to the person appointed at nomination to receive it during the minor’s minority, or failing that the minor’s guardian (r. 15(5)).
If all the nominees are dead, the nomination is void. Section 4A(2) of the 1873 Act says a nomination “shall become void if the nominee predeceases, or where there are two or more nominees, all the nominees predecease the depositor.” The claim then falls back to the depositor’s legal heirs on the no-nomination path below. Rule 14(6) cancels a nomination outright where all nominees have died, and a fresh one must then be made for any future death.
India Post’s operational instructions (POSB Manual, Chapter 19) give the post office precedence to the nominee over all other persons staking a claim. But if a legal heir has already produced a succession certificate, probate, or letters of administration before the nominee’s claim is sanctioned, that document wins.
No nomination in force
GSPR r. 15(6): if probate, letters of administration, or a succession certificate under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 is not produced within six months of the death to the authorised officer of the accounts office:
Balance not exceeding ₹5 lakh — the authorised officer may pay anyone appearing to be the rightful claimant, on the claim form with:
- (a) Death certificate
- (b) Pass book, or deposit receipt / statement of account, in original
- (c) Affidavit in Form 13
- (d) Letter of disclaimer in Form 14
- (e) Bond of indemnity in Form 15
Balance above ₹5 lakh — payment only on a Succession Certificate from a court, with the claim form, original pass book, and death certificate.
The ₹5 lakh line is the one that decides whether your family needs a court at all. The ceiling applies per account or registration number, so a family holding several accounts need not drag all of them into court at once.
A cheaper door exists too. Section 4A(4) of the 1873 Act — as substituted by the Finance Act, 2023, section 165 — accepts not only probate or a succession certificate but also a legal heir certificate issued by a revenue authority not below the rank of Tahsildar.
Interest, and to which date
Interest does not freeze on the date of death. It keeps running while the claim sits in the queue.
- PPF — interest till the end of the month preceding the month of payment (para 14(2)).
- POSA — interest “shall be paid only in the end of the month preceeding the month in which the account is closed” (para 5(5)).
- SSY — interest at the Post Office Savings Account rate between the date of death and the date of closure (para 7(2)). Balance and interest up to the date of death go to the guardian.
The catch: a loan can come off the top
A PPF loan is subtracted before anyone is paid. The word doing the work is “eligible balance”, and GSPR rule 3(c) defines it as:
“the amount of balance at the credit of the account, including interest accrued thereon, after effecting recoveries on account of outstanding principal and interest, if any, in respect of a loan availed by the depositor”
And PPF Scheme paragraph 9(6) puts it plainly:
“In case of death of the account holder, the nominee or legal heir shall be liable to pay interest on the loan availed by the account holder but not repaid before his death. Such amount of due interest shall be adjusted at the time of final closure of the account.”
So if the deceased had drawn a PPF loan, the nominee inherits that interest liability, and it is netted off at final closure.
(Interest rates are reset every quarter by notification. Check the current notification rather than relying on any number printed here.)
RD’s Protected Savings Scheme: a floor, not a windfall
RD holds one more provision, and it is widely oversold. It is worth knowing precisely what it is worth.
Under RD Scheme paragraph 13, where the holder dies during the maturity period or its extension, the legal heir or nominee may receive the maturity amount as if all sixty monthly deposits had been paid — not the deposits actually made.
But the benefit is capped at the maturity value of a ₹100-denomination RD. For an account of any other denomination, para 13(5) computes the proportionate amount, and then:
- if that proportion exceeds the ₹100 maturity value, no benefit is admissible at all — not a reduced one;
- if it is less, you get the ₹100 maturity value in full.
So it does not scale with your balance. Its real use is where continuing the account is unavailable or pointless: no nomination and more than three heirs, an account that has gone discontinued, or a family that cannot or will not keep paying instalments. There it puts a floor under a small or broken account. On a large, healthy account it is worth far less than simply continuing the deposits.
Two structural limits you should know before anything else
You have to die inside the five-year window. Para 13(1) applies only where the holder dies “during the maturity period of an account or its extension”, and RD maturity is five years (para 4). An RD opened years ago and long matured falls outside para 13 altogether — the Table 1 rules in para 12(1) govern it instead.
The age condition caps the whole benefit. Para 13(1)(iv) requires the age at the time of opening to be “not less than eighteen years and not more than fifty-five years.” Combined with death inside the five-year maturity period, that puts age at death at roughly 60 or under. A holder who opened an RD at 60 and died at 72 cannot claim under para 13, however small the account. Where no written age declaration was made at opening, the claimant must produce a certified birth certificate, school leaving certificate, PAN card, voter ID card or passport — age is proven on paper, not taken on trust.
The conditions — labelled by sub-paragraph
| # | Condition | Cite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | At least two years between opening and death | 13(1)(iii) |
| 2 | Opening age 18 to 55, proven on paper if not declared | 13(1)(iv) + proviso |
| 3 | First twenty-four monthly deposits without default. A defaulted instalment later paid with the revival fee does not count as default | 13(1)(v) + proviso |
| 4 | Defaults after the first twenty-four months are deducted from the amount payable, with revival fee on them | 13(1)(vi) |
| 5 | No loan during the first twenty-four months — eligibility, and it disqualifies the claim outright | 13(1)(vii) |
| 6 | Account has not become discontinued. Note the asymmetry: a loan taken after month 24 is merely recovered from the payable amount, not fatal | 13(1)(ii), 13(1)(viii) |
| 7 | No prior availed benefit for another account of the same deceased holder | 13(3) |
| 8 | Apply within one year of the death, with the death certificate | 13(3) |
Conditions 4 and 5 are the ones that bite, and they pull in opposite directions: a default after month 24 reduces the benefit, while a loan inside the first two years ends it.
The one edge worth knowing
The “no benefit admissible” cliff does not arise on a single account with sixty or fewer instalments. It bites under 13(6), where a holder had several accounts below ₹100 denomination: their proportionate amounts combine, and if the total crosses the ₹100 maturity value, nothing is admissible. Holders with multiple small RDs should check this before assuming each one pays.
SSY: the one account that changes hands at 18
Under the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 914(E) of 12 December 2019):
- Para 6(1) — “The account shall be operated by the guardian till the account holder attains the age of eighteen years. The account shall be operated by the account holder herself after attaining age of eighteen years by submitting necessary documents.”
- Para 7(1) — on the death of the account holder, the account closes on Form-2 with a death certificate; the balance plus interest up to the date of death goes to the guardian.
- Para 7(3) — on the death of the guardian, the accounts office may allow premature closure on documented compassionate grounds, but not before five years from opening.
A word of warning for the counter. SSY para 7(1) pays to the guardian, while GSPR rule 10(3) says that on the death of a minor the eligible balance is paid to the nominee. These point different ways. The specific provision displaces the General Rules, so para 7(1) governs an SSY. But expect a counter clerk to quote r. 10(3), and ask for para 7(1) by name.
And the guardian’s death does not hand the account to the girl’s nominees. On her 18th birthday operation passes to her.
Tax
Check this with a CA. Three separate things, constantly merged.
1. Interest on the deposit — exempt, or taxable?
| Interest position | |
|---|---|
| PPF | Exempt |
| SSY | Exempt |
| NSC | Exempt |
| SCSS | Taxable at slab, as income from other sources |
| POSA | Taxable at slab |
All three exemptions run through the same entry — Schedule II, Sl. No. 11 — which reaches “interest on such securities, bonds, annuity certificates, savings certificates, other certificates issued by the Central Government and deposits,” and only where “such certificates and deposits are notified by the Central Government.”
SCSS is not in that notified set. If you have seen SCSS interest described as exempt, treat it with suspicion.
For KVP, the position turns on that same notification. KVP interest follows Sl. No. 11 if KVP appears in the Central Government’s list of notified deposits — so the answer depends on one document, published alongside the quarterly interest rates. Check that notification before assuming either way.
2. Relief on taxable deposit interest — section 153
Section 153 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (successor to sections 80TTA and 80TTB) covers interest on deposits with “a Post Office as defined in section 2(d) of the Post Office Act, 2023.” That wording reaches every post office deposit scheme — so POSA and SCSS interest, and KVP interest if it is taxable, all sit inside it.
- Below 60 / HUF — up to ₹10,000, savings account interest only. Time deposits (FD, RD) excluded.
- Senior citizens — up to ₹50,000, savings and time deposits.
- One ceiling per taxpayer per year, not per account. Old regime only.
A deduction, not an exemption: report the gross interest, then claim the capped relief.
3. Deduction on the subscription — section 123
PPF, SSY and NSC subscriptions sit in the ₹1.5 lakh basket under section 123 read with Schedule XV. One ceiling for the whole basket, not per item. A KVP deposit attracts no such deduction. Old regime only.
(Separately, the SSY maturity payment is exempt in its own right under Schedule II Sl. No. 5 — a different provision from the interest exemption above, and easy to confuse with it.)
4. Death itself
Interest up to the date of death belonged to the deceased and goes into their final return. Interest after death is income of whoever receives it — where you nominated as trustee for the legal heirs, that is the legal heirs’ income on their own PAN. With an absolute-ownership nomination the treatment differs.
Report gross interest even where nothing was deducted at source — the department cross-checks bank data through the Annual Information Statement.
Worked examples
Same man, same death, same nominee — three different outcomes.
Ramesh, 62, died on 10 March 2026. He nominated his wife Sunita on every account, as absolute owner.
Case 1 — the KVP, ₹4,00,000
KVP para 9(2): one surviving nominee, within the three-person limit. Sunita may continue the account.
Under KVP para 5(1), the deposit doubles on maturity. At ₹4,00,000, maturity value is ₹8,00,000 — paid at maturity, on the tenor Ramesh fixed under para 5(2) when he opened it. Nothing is paid out today.
Case 2 — the PPF, ₹5,80,000, with a live loan
Two things happen.
The loan comes off. GSPR r. 3(c) defines the eligible balance after recovering outstanding principal and interest on the loan. Say the unrepaid loan carried ₹20,000 of interest due — that is deducted, and PPF para 9(6) makes Sunita liable for it.
Then interest runs to the month before payment. Para 14(2): death on 10 March, claim sanctioned and paid in June → interest runs through 31 May, not through 10 March. That is the benefit of filing promptly: two full calendar months of PPF interest that the family keeps.
How much that is depends on the notified rate and the account balance, so this page does not price it.
Eligible balance at closure
= balance to 31 May, LESS ₹20,000 loan interest (r. 3(c))
paid to Sunita — account closed, 15-year term does not restart
The account ends. And Sunita’s ₹20,000 goes with it.
Case 3 — the savings account, ₹4,80,000
No death-continuation clause in the POSA scheme; GSPR r. 15 governs. Sunita files the claim form with the death certificate and original passbook, and gets interest credited to the end of the month before closure — months after 10 March, not on the date of death.
The catch in Case 1
Suppose instead of one nominee, Ramesh left no nomination and the family is four siblings.
KVP para 9(2) allows continuation by “not more than three surviving nominees or legal heirs.” Four siblings cannot continue it. The account closes and is paid out. Three could have. One extra heir flips the outcome entirely — and the same is true of an NSC and of an RD.
And a standalone RD example
This one is a sketch, deliberately, and carries no arithmetic — the point is which route pays, not what the number is.
Take a holder who was 44 when the RD was opened, four years ago. He has died during the maturity period, so age at death is 48 and inside the 55-at-opening limit. A ₹100-denomination account, forty-eight deposits paid, first twenty-four clean, no loan, claim filed within the year.
- Continuation (para 12(2)) — the nominee continues and receives the para 9(1) maturity amount for a ₹100 account, having paid the remaining twelve instalments out of their own pocket.
- Protected Savings (para 13) — the nominee claims the amount as if sixty deposits had been made.
On a ₹100 account these two routes converge on the same figure, because the Protected Savings benefit is capped at exactly the ₹100 maturity value. Continuation reaches it too — but only after the family finishes paying in. So on a ₹100 RD the protected route is preferable precisely because it demands no more money from the family.
Above ₹100 the comparison flips. Continuation pays a multiple, because the account keeps compounding on the full deposit. The Protected Savings benefit is still capped at the ₹100 maturity value and does not scale. Continuation wins comfortably.
That is where the “does not scale” line in the earlier section gets cashed out: the benefit is not larger for a bigger account, it is only better than continuation on a small one.
And the SSY
Ramesh’s granddaughter Meera, 12, has an SSY with ₹1,50,000, and Ramesh is her guardian. Meera is alive — so on Meera’s 18th birthday, para 6(1) hands operation to Meera herself.
What to do today
You do not need a lawyer, a will, or a single rupee for this. You need your passbooks and twenty minutes.
- Take out every post office passbook you own — savings account, RD, KVP, NSC, PPF, SSY, SCSS.
- Know which scheme each account is in, because it changes the answer on death. PPF, SSY and savings accounts close. KVP, NSC and RD can continue, if there are three or fewer survivors.
- For each account, ask whether a nomination is registered and in force. If none exists, register one now (r. 14). Free, and variable later with a fresh Form 10.
- Decide the owner-or-trustee box deliberately. It changes the tax treatment and it changes who a court favours later.
- Count the survivors. More than three heirs means a KVP, NSC or RD cannot be continued, whatever the nomination says.
- Check the balance against the ₹5 lakh line. Above it, per account, the family needs a court or a Tehsildar’s legal heir certificate. Below it, affidavit and indemnity may be enough.
- If there is a small RD, ask about the Protected Savings Scheme — but check the two structural limits first (death within the five-year maturity period, age 55 or under at opening) and then the eight conditions.
- Note any loan against the account. The nominee inherits the interest liability and it is deducted at closure.
- Keep nominee details current. A nomination naming someone who has already died is a dead nomination.
- Nominating a minor? Appoint an adult too, at the same time.
- Write a will anyway. Nomination is not a will. It tells the post office whom to pay. The will tells your family why.
Key takeaway
Check the scheme name before anything else. In a KVP, NSC or RD, up to three survivors can keep the deposit running to maturity. In a PPF, SSY or savings account, the account closes and is paid out, less any loan outstanding. Same post office, same nominee, same death certificate.
Then register your nominations, and write the will.
Related reading on thewealthblog.in: the small savings schemes pillar covers the schemes side by side; NSC vs KVP handles the deposit-in-one-vs-two-decisions question; nomination vs will goes deeper on succession. Individual scheme pages already live for NSC and SCSS — linked, not rewritten here.
Sources
- Government Savings Promotion Act, 1873 — sections 4, 4A(2), 4A(4), 5, 6, 7
- Finance Act, 2023, section 165 — substituted section 4A(4), adding the legal heir certificate from a revenue authority not below the rank of Tahsildar
- Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018 (G.S.R. 1003(E), 5 October 2018) — rules 3(c), 10(3), 14(1), 14(1)(c), 14(6), 15(2)–(6), 25, 26(1); Forms 10, 11, 13, 14, 15
- G.S.R. 912(E), 12 December 2019 — rescission of eight sets of 1981–2016 rules; item (iii) is the National Savings Recurring Deposit Rules, 1981 (G.S.R. 666(E))
- G.S.R. 913(E), 12 December 2019 — rescission of the Public Provident Fund Scheme, 1968
- Post Office Savings Account Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 921(E), 12 December 2019), amended G.S.R. 257(E) of 9 April 2021 — paras 3(2), 5(5), 10
- Public Provident Fund Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 915(E), 12 December 2019), amended G.S.R. 290(E) of 5 May 2020 — paras 7(1)–(2), 9(6), 14(1), 14(2)
- National Savings Certificates (VIII Issue) Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 919(E), 12 December 2019), amended G.S.R. 284(E) of 5 May 2020 — paras 9, 10
- Kisan Vikas Patra Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 920(E), 12 December 2019), amended G.S.R. 283(E) of 5 May 2020 — paras 5(1), 5(1A), 5(2), 9(2), 10
- National Savings Recurring Deposit Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 918(E), 12 December 2019) — paras 4, 9(1), 12(1)–(2), 13(1)(ii)–(viii), 13(3), 13(5), 13(6), 17
- Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 914(E), 12 December 2019), amended G.S.R. 288(E) of 5 May 2020 — paras 6(1), 7(1)–(3)
- Income-tax Act, 2025 — Schedule II Sl. No. 11 (interest on savings certificates and notified deposits) and Sl. No. 5 (SSY payments, on maturity); section 123 read with Schedule XV; section 153; Post Office Act, 2023, section 2(d)
- Ministry of Finance circular, 28 August 2020 — three bases of settlement and the ₹5 lakh limit
- India Post guidelines for timely settlement of death claims, 10 January 2023; SB Order 01/2023
- POSB Manual, Chapter 19 — Settlement of Deceased Claim Cases
- Indrani Wahi v. Registrar of Co-operative Societies & Ors., Supreme Court, 10 March 2016
Disclaimer: This is for educational purposes only. Rules, limits and interest rates change each quarter, and every family’s facts are different. Consult a qualified financial advisor or chartered accountant before acting.

