The Central Directorate of National Savings Organization has begun ‘Sarwa Islamic Savings Account (SISA) and Sarwa Islamic Term Account (SITA), two Shariah-compliant schemes.
The Central Directorate of National Savings has established an Islamic window named ‘Rafa National Savings (RNS) whose role is to provide different Shariah-compliant investment accounts under “Sarwa Islamic Savings Account Rules, 2019. These rules have already been approved by the federal cabinet, and the operation of this scheme will be allowed from all national savings centers.
To ensure Shariah compliance of the schemes and operations, a Shariah Supervisory Board comprising renowned Shariah scholars has been appointed by the central directorate of national savings.
While the Sarwa Islamic Savings Account will have no tenure, the Sarwa Islamic Term Account will comprise four different tenures of one, three, five, and ten years. Initially, SITA-3 years and SITA-5 years will be offered.
A notification issued by the ministry of finance mentioned that the expected rate of profit payable on the deposits made in the Sarwa Islamic Savings Account (SISA) will be 13.50 percent, and profits payable on the deposits made in the five-year Sarwa Islamic Term Account (SITA) will be 12.60 percent, and 13.28 percent on three-year SITA.
The SISA account will be opened for an unlimited period and will remain valid for principal payment and profit payment thereof, till such time it is linked to the SITA account or investment is encashed or withdrawn by the registered holder.
The Sarwa Islamic Savings Account (SISA) is the Shariah-compliant alternative of the regular savings account of CDNS, and the minimum investment amount of SISA is Rs. 100, and profit is calculated on the daily closing balance of the account, paid on monthly basis.
The minimum investment amount under the Sarwa Islamic Term Account (SITA) will be Rs. 50,000, and profit would be paid as per anticipated profit rates based on investment amounts and paid at maturity for one year SITA, half-yearly for three years SITA, monthly for five years SITA, and monthly or yearly for ten years.