How to invest in NPS Online – eNPS?

This post is written by Shiv Kukreja, who is a Certified Financial Planner and runs a financial planning firm, Ojas Capital in Delhi/NCR. He can be reached at skukreja@investitude.co.in

Last minute tax savers have only 4 days left to finalise their tax saving investments. If my previous post on NPS could help you take a decision to invest in it or not, then it is the time for you to act now. If you have finally decided to invest in NPS, then going for it in an offline manner won’t help you meet the March 31 deadline. But, you can still make it if you already have Aadhaar number with you and you can make online payment for it through internet banking or credit/debit card.

As most of you are aware by now, NPS provides you an exclusive tax benefit under section 80CCD (1B) which no other investment is allowed to do for you. You get a tax exemption of Rs. 50,000 under this section, which is over and above Rs. 1,50,000 exemption under Section 80C. So, if you fall in the 30% tax bracket, your investment of Rs. 50,000 in NPS saves you an additional Rs. 15,450 in taxes.

Where to go to make the NPS investment to Save Tax?

Many investors are still confused where to go or whom to contact in order to make this NPS investment. Although many banks/intermediaries/brokers have been providing such services, they all are advising their own procedures to follow to complete the registration. This is leaving many people more confused and the NPS registration process more complicated.

But, with eNPS, you will be provided all the support you require at the click of a mouse and you need not worry about which bank or intermediary to approach to and what procedures to follow in order to save your tax.

eNPS – How to go about it?

As you must be aware, as per SEBI guidelines, one is required to go through the KYC process to make any kind of market-linked investment. NPS also requires you to get it done before your account gets activated. You need to visit any of the NSDL appointed Point of Services (PoS) i.e. any of designated bank branches authorised to sell NPS or any of the intermediaries such as CAMS, Karvy, ICICI Securities, HDFC Securities or FundsIndia, and submit your PAN card, address proof, photograph and bank details along with the duly filled application form in order to get your KYC verification.

These banks/intermediaries would then forward your application and other documents to the Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA), which would allot you a Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) and open an NPS account in your name. This whole process usually takes 15-20 days as your PRAN gets generated and allotted to you.

However, with the introduction of eNPS, you are not required to visit any of the banks or intermediaries to submit your application form and other necessary KYC documents. As per the official website for eNPS, you have two options to register yourself online and I would like to explain you both the options here.

Option I – Registration on www.enps.nsdl.com using Aadhaar

If you have your Aadhaar number and your mobile number is linked to it, you need to register yourself online on https://enps.nsdl.com and make the payment through netbanking or credit/debit card. Your PRAN gets generated as soon as you register and make the payment.

For registration, you will be required to fill up the application form online and upload your signature in *.jpeg/*.jpg format. For authentication, a one-time password will be sent to your registered mobile number. The KYC process will be done using your demographic details and photo from the Aadhaar database. If desired so, you can replace your photo as well.

Option II – Registration using PAN (KYC Verification by Banks)

As many as 40 banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, Canara Bank and IDBI Bank etc., are also providing such online services for KYC verification and PRAN generation. You can get the complete list all these 40 banks on the eNPS website.

If you have your bank account with any of these 40 banks, you have already got your PAN number or Aadhaar number linked to your bank account and you can make online payment using the bank’s internet banking facility or credit/debit card, then you can invest in NPS online using your bank’s services.

You just need to fill up your details online, upload your scanned photograph and signature in *.jpeg/*.jpg format and make the payment. As soon as you make the investment, a PRAN will be allotted to you.

Please note that these banks and intermediaries do get paid certain transaction charges or service charges for all these services they provide you through their own platforms. However, you can save these charges by routing your transactions through eNPS.

90 Days to Dispatch KYC Documents – This is the only thing you need to do in an offline manner. Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) gives you 90 days’ time to send your duly attested KYC documents to reach them for further authentication. You need to take a printout of the application form, paste your photograph, sign it in the block provided and post it to the CRA within 90 days from the date of PRAN allotment.

The PRAN Kit containing a PRAN Card, Internet Password (IPIN), Telephone Password (TPIN), Subscriber Master Report, Scheme Information Booklet along with a Welcome Letter will be sent to your registered address post that.

Credit Card Payment – Every year in March, I come across many of my clients/friends who face some kind of cash crunch, either due to an abnormally high tax deduction from their salaries or due to their last minute investments/payments to save tax. If you are one of them, then this is a good news for you. As mentioned above as well, eNPS allows you to make your investment through a credit card also. So, you can effectively defer your cash outflow by a few days or weeks using a credit card and still enjoy the tax benefit for the current financial year.

eNPS for Old Subscribers – Existing subscribers can also make their NPS contributions using the eNPS platform. You just need to visit the eNPS website and make the contribution authenticating your PRAN using the OTP sent to your registered mobile number. Again, you can opt for either internet banking or credit/debit card to make the contribution.

I hope the above information helps you do your tax saving investment in NPS, even if you have decided late to go for it. If you have any further queries or need more information regarding eNPS, you may contact Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) or NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited at 1800 22 2080 or 022 – 40904242 or eNPS@nsdl.co.in

Your general views, queries and suggestions are always welcome here on this OneMint forum.

38 thoughts on “How to invest in NPS Online – eNPS?”

  1. This article is very educative but dated 28 March 2016. We do not know how relevant it is for this current year. Please update it immediately incorporating change(s), if any to make it 100% relevant for this current year for benefit of one & all so that readers can get some more time to take required action in time to avoid any rush at the eleventh hour.

  2. I am govt employee & becomein NPS scheme. Annualy deduction in this scheme is aprox rs 61000. To kya 1.5 lakh se above ki saving hone par is nps deposite par sec 80ccd(1b) ka benifit milega?

  3. Hi,

    My query is regarding the KYC verification by the bank after completing registration for eNPS using PAN card. I could successfully register and my PRAN has been generated. I had provided details of my local SBI branch. Now my PRAN account appears frozen as bank has not yet completed KYC. I visited the SBI bank branch and they seemed to be unaware of any such process for eNPS KYC verification. Now I am stuck as eNPS responded that nothing can be done from their end and the bank is clueless on what needs to be done. Calls/E-mails to eNPS customer care did not yield any help, they simply tell that I have to sort it out with my bank and there is nothing they can do.
    This is the exact bureaucracy I dreaded before opting for this scheme offered by the government.
    Any guidance on how to train my bank for the job they are responsible for or any other work around will be highly appreciated.
    Thought I will share my experience so that others can avoid this pain by registering for eNPS using PAN card.

    1. I’m also getting a same response from NSDL. I’ve selected the ICICI bank. Now I’ve printed the form and verified the bank official also sent it to the CRA through speed post. I can see it’s received by CRA. But while calling they said they did not receive it. I’m completely frustrated by the the bureaucratic process now I do not know how to resolve it. Now I’m thinking why should I raise the eNPS. Any one having any idea how to resolve it.

  4. Hi Shiv,

    Can you clarify the tax impact in withdrawal from NPS tier 2 account – is it a) taxable as per the tax slab applicable to the individual or b) taxable as per capital gains rules (Equity – 0 tax after 12 months and Debt – LTCG after 3 years)?

    Regards,
    SB

  5. Hi, very informative article.
    I am 28 years old and I am searching for good investment options. I just came to know about peer to peer lending as an emerging platform in India and wanted your views on that.

  6. Thanks for this wonderful article on NPS Shiv. Can you clarify one thing for me? After reading your article I used eNPS for investing INR50k on 28 March 2016. The amount was debited from my account immediately. However, the units have been allocated to me on 4 April 2016. In this case, am I eligible fir tax rebate in last FY as he money was debited from my account on 28 March 2016 itself? Thanks.

  7. #Niveza #Review : Indian markets witnessed continued buying interest from the institutional investors in line with the other emerging markets. Meanwhile, the government permitted 100 per cent FDI in the market place format of e-commerce retailing with a view to attract more foreign investments. The major event this week is a monetary policy review from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI will announce the First Bimonthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2016-17 at 11:00 IST on Tuesday, 5 April 2016. Market expectations are that the RBI will cut its benchmark lending rate viz. the repo rate by at least 25 basis points on 5 April 2016, with the government sticking to its fiscal deficit target for year 2016-17 in the Union Budget 2016-17 on 29 February 2016. The government’s announcement of a reduction in interest rates on small savings schemes for Q1 June 2016 and dovish comments from US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen have reinforced market expectations of a rate cut from the RBI. After that, the next major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2016 results.

  8. AN APPEAL: MY CITY KOLKATA IS PASSING THROUGH A CRISIS. MORE THAN 25 PEOPLE HAVE DIED AND MORE THAN 75 HAVE BEEN INJURED DUE TO A FLYOVER COLLAPSE. IF POSSIBLE DONATE TO ANY NGO IN KOLKATA. YOU WILL GET TAX BENEFITS ALSO. THANKS.

  9. AN APPEAL: MY CITY KOLKATA IS PASSING THROUGH A CRISIS. MORE THAN 25 PEOPLE HAVE DIED AND MORE THAN 75 HAVE BEEN INJURED DUE TO A FLYOVER COLLAPSE. IF YOU CAN THEN DONATE TO ANY NGO IN KOLKATA. YOU WILL GET TAX BENEFITS TOO. IF YOU CAN THEN HELP US. THANK YOU.

  10. I was about to invest in NPS but already crossed the deadline, I will do it next time to get tax exception in the next ITR. Thanks for this post !

  11. Hi Shiv,

    Thanks for this information.

    When we make contribution by cheque, they deduct 0.25% of the contribution as POP charges. If we do not involve POP and choose to pay using eNPS platform, will there be any charges / costs for the contribution made by us?

      1. That is right! If you invest through eNPS, you’ll save on such transaction charges, which banks or other intermediaries would carry if you make your contribution through any of their platforms.

        1. There are transaction charges payment gatway if contribution done through eNPS. Its 0.6 Rs if done through internet banking but the banks listed do not include private banks like ICICI or Citibank. If done through Debit/Credit card then its 0.8% of transaction. Its but amount and higher than POP charges.

  12. The one investment everyone is talking about is ELSS. But there are points to think about ELSS. Those are:
    -If the investment is a one time one, then the lock in period is fine.
    -But if one chooses the SIP route then there the things to think about: Those are:-Each unit or installment ‘ll have a lock in period of one year.
    Hence after completion of one year, a person ‘ll not get back his entire investment. He ‘ll get them as each installment completes 3 years as each installment is treated as a separate financial investment.-

  13. Wonderful Shiv. You have put in so much effort in last 2 posts to explain NPS. You are doing a great service to your country putting so much effort to help them make investment decisions.

  14. Hi Shiv Kukreja,
    Below mentioned email ID doesn’t works.
    eNPS@nsdl.co.in, every time it shows that email box is full and our emails gets bounced.
    If you could pass on the msg. to concern, they can fix the issue and would be great help for other users.
    This is just for your kind information.

  15. Please be careful at the time of making payment. It should complete in one shot – smoothly. Any error – failed payment will take at least 5 working days to reset.

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