The Finance Ministry has said that subscribers of the Public Provident Fund (PPF) can prematurely close the deposit scheme after completing five years for reasons such as higher education or expenditure towards medical treatment. <br/><br/>In a notification, the Ministry said that a subscriber will be allowed premature closure of his account on ground that amount is required for treatment of serious ailments of the account holder, spouse or dependent children on production of supporting documents.<br/><br/> The notification further said the allowance will be also applicable to the requirement of higher education of the account holder or the minor account holder on production of documents. It, however, added that such premature closure shall be allowed only after the account has completed five financial years.