New Delhi, Aug. 9 -- Many investors open a PPF account in India because of it's attractive returns and tax benefits, but confusion often arises when they move abroad for education, job opportunities or other such reasons. While neither non-resident Indians nor foreign citizens are allowed to open a new PPF account, the rules governing an existing account are different in the two cases.

The Public Provident Fund (PPF) is a popular long-term savings scheme, which is backed by the government, offers an interest rate of 7.1% per annum and follows the Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE) tax treatment, making both the interest earned and maturity amount tax-free in India.

NRIs who opened their PPF account while they were resident Indians are allowed t...