01/09/2017

Withdrawal of PF money without employers attestation-'Composite claim form 

After exit and a cooling off period of 2 months, fill the 'Composite claim form (Aadhaar)' wherein the need for employer's attestation has been done away with.

However, for a faster claim, one needs to meet certain conditions as set by the EPFO, including that of linking the PF to one's Aadhaar. 

Log on to the website (https://unifiedportalem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/) and after applying for withdrawal, to authenticate the claim process, a one-time password (OTP) is sent to the registered mobile number that is there in the Aadhaar database. Once this OTP is entered, submit the 'Composite claim form (Aadhaar)' and the withdrawal process is initiated.

EPFO introduces new Composite Declaration Form (F-11)Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation

(EPFO) has introduced new Composite Declaration Form (F-11) with immediate effect by replacing the existing New Form-11.Form-11 relates to declaration by a person taking up employment in any establishment on which EPF Scheme, 1952 and /or EPS, 1995 is applicable. The Composite Declaration Form will also replace Form No. 13 in all cases of auto transfer.

EPFO discontinues Physical Submission of Form-9

Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) vide circular dated September 18, 2017 has decided to discontinue the submission of Form No. 9 in physical formin respect of all the members joining as well as the establishments being covered on or after October 01, 2017.

EPFO launches New Facility for Members to submit Aadhaar enabled Online filing of Claims with Activated UAN.

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched a new facility in employee’s Member Interface of Unified Portal for the employees/members to submit Online Claims based on Composite Claim Form (Aadhar)

For online submission of the claim, members are required to complete e-KYC on the Unified Portal for submitting their claims through online mode and such claims will be available in the field office application software for processing without routing the same through their employers. For online submission of claim forms, the facility would be available only to those PF members who have seeded their KYC’s (Aadhar Number and Bank Details) against their UAN which have further been verified digitally by the employer and also from the UID database, and service details are available on the Unified Portal.

EPFO issues Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Settlement of Claims in EPFO

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to delineate the procedure from the receipt of claims from members to settlement of claims & transfer of claim amount to the member account. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) should be followed for the process of settlement of claims. In case of any conflict between the SOP and the Manual of Accounting Procedure, this SOP shall be followed.

How to change employee name in EPF account

The EPF Name Correction is possible

The EPF name correction forms a simple document. It is more of a letter than a document. It is addressed to the Regional EPFO Commissioner and must follow this format:

• Address the letter to the Regional PF Commissioner.
• State the subject of the letter as “Joint declaration by the member and the employer.

Checking your EPF Balance Online

The facility of checking EPF balance online was launched in August 2011. You can view your updates accounts including any settlement/transfer-in/transfer-out. Upon submission of the required information by you (account holder), EPFO will send the details via an SMS to the registered mobile number. You can also avail of the establishment search facility (data is available for 120 offices).

You can log onto http://members.epfoservices.in/ to view the EPFO office in your state. You can also search for your establishments under old Office Code, under Office and PIN code. Upon selecting your area, you will directed to a page wherein you have to fill in required details such as Employee PF Account Number, name (as appears in EPF Slip) and your mobile number to receive your account balance information. The total number of requests served on the website as on October 2015 is 9881235. The following steps need to be followed for checking your PF account or provident fund status online

Changes in pension amount by the Employees Provident Fund Organization

The pension amount now will be calculated as per the average of last 60 months salary rather than that of last 12 Months. The minimum monthly pension has been set to INR 1000 which will be given to the widow of the EPF member. The minimum monthly pension for the children and orphans of EPF member has also been revised and set to minimum INR 250 and INR 750 respectively.

Retirement fund body EPFO has decided to reduce the administrative charges to 0.65% of total wages of an employee from 1 April,2017

Now you need not file separate EPF transfer claim on switching jobs using Form 13

Now, at the time of joining a new employer, the employees' can give details of their previous EPF account in new composite F-11 form to give a declaration about their details.

Once the old EPF account details are provided in F-11 form, the funds will be automatically transferred by the EPFO to new EPF account.  Use new F-11 composite form, which is a declaration document filed by the employee through the employer to provide details like bank account number and Aadhaar.

Composite declaration form (F-11) will replace Form No 13 in all cases of auto transfer. 

Benefits of linking your EPF account to Aadhaar

Auto transfer process
Upon joining a new organisation, the employee is supposed to fill and submit details to the new employer by furnishing details in the 'Composite Declaration Form (F-11)'. Along with your basic details, it also asks for the previous UAN, if any, previous PF number etc.

When your present employer enters the information (as per Form 11) in the employer's portal, and if the UAN is seeded with Aadhaar and bank details and is verified by the previous employer, it will trigger an auto-transfer process. This will will transfer the accumulations against the previous PF number to the new one. In other words, if your Aadhaar is linked to the PF, the transfer happens automatically.

Linking your Aadhaar to the PF account will help in faster transfer and withdrawal process. For it to happen, the present employer should have approved and verified the KYC including the employee's Aadhaar details.

How to download EPF passbook 

Register on the EPFO portal
The subscriber needs to be registered on the EPFO member portal by activating the UAN. One can visit https://unifiedportal.epfindia.gov.in to access the same. UAN allotted to the member, PAN, Aadhaar or Member ID must be available to activate the UAN and get online access to the portal.

Authentication
Once details are entered and submitted, an authentication pin is sent to the registered mobile to complete the registration process. The subscriber can now access the portal and log in to member services. 

Download the e-passbook, the subscriber must login to the member portal and click on “Download e-passbook”. Details such as state in which the EPF office is situated, specific EPF office within the state, PF code of the employer, PF account number of the employee must be entered and submitted to generate a PIN on the subscriber’s registered mobile phone.

Once authentication is completed, e-passbook will be available for download on the same page after 3 working days.

Points to note

• Self is the login id for accessing the member portal.
• Closed and inoperative EPF accounts cannot generate e-passbooks. 

4 ways to check your provident fund balance

1) EPFO portal, You can directly go to the page

https://passbook.epfindia.gov.in/MemberPassBook/Login.jsp 

To access the passbook, make sure your UAN is activated by the employer. Remember, UAN is provided by the EPFO but it has to be verified and activated by your employer. So, if yours has already been activated, use it along with your password to log in and check your passbook balance. 

2)SMS

If your UAN is registered with EPFO, you can get details of your latest contribution and the PF balance by sending an SMS to 7738299899. You need to send this message: EPFOHO UAN ENG. ENG is the first three characters of the preferred language. So, if you want to receive the message in  Malayalam then type in EPFOHO UAN MAL.

The facility is available in English, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Bengali. EPFO can only send details of members available with it. So, make sure your UAN is seeded with your bank account, Aadhaar and PAN, else ask your employer to seed them for you. by giving a missed call. 

3)By giving a missed call

If you are already registered on the UAN portal, by giving a missed call on 011-22901406 from your registered mobile number will fetch you the details. Here, too, make sure your UAN is seeded with your bank account number, Aadhaar and PAN, else ask your employer to seed them for you. 

4). By using the EPFO app

The m-sewa app of EPFO can be downloaded from Google Play Store. Once the app is downloaded, click on 'Member' and then on 'Balance/passbook'. Thereafter, enter your UAN and registered mobile number.

Amendment Relating To ‘Inoperative Accounts' Under Employees' Provident Funds And Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

Paragraph 72(6) of Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952 ("Scheme") sets out scenarios when a members' money with Employees' Provident Fund Organisation ("EPFO") is transferred to an account called "Inoperative Account".

By notification number G.S.R. 1065(E) dated 11th November 2016 ("Notification"), the Ministry of Labour and Employment has diluted the above provision of the Scheme. The below tabular chart sets out change brought by the notification:

India: Amendments In The Employees’ Provident Fund Act In India

With effect from 1 September 2014, brought into force several important amendments to the schemes

Key Amendments

PF Scheme

•  Accordingly, the wage ceiling for an employee to be eligible for the PF Scheme has been increased from INR 6,500 per month to INR 15,000 per month.

Pension Scheme

• New members (joining on or after 1 September 2014) drawing wages exceeding INR 15,000 per month shall not be eligible to voluntarily contribute to the Pension Scheme.
• The maximum pensionable salary for the purpose of determining the monthly pension has been revised from INR 6,500 to INR 15,000 per month.
• The pensionable salary shall be calculated on the average monthly pay for the contribution period of the last 60 months (earlier 12 months) preceding the date of exit from the membership.
• The monthly pension for any existing or future member shall not be less than INR 1,000 for the financial year 2014-15.

Insurance Scheme

• The contribution payable under the Insurance Scheme shall now be calculated on a monthly pay of INR 15,000, instead of INR 6,500.
• In the event of death of a member (on or after 1 September 2014), the assurance benefits available under the Insurance Scheme has been increased by twenty percent (20%) in addition to the already admissible benefits.

Scheme Guidelines for Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY)

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) is a scheme introduced by government to “incentivize employers”and encourage job creation in market.

Under the aforesaid Scheme, effective 9th August 2016 for all eligible Employers, the Government of India will pay the following contributions of the Employer for new employees added to the reference base, for the first three years of their employment (i.e., upto FY 2019-20 until which this Scheme is valid).

(1) the Employer’s contribution of 8.33% to the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS)

(2) An additional 3.67% of Employer’s contribution to Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for textile (apparel) industries ONLY.

New Employee, is an employee earning less than 15,000/- per month, who has not worked in any EPFO registered establishment on a regular basis in the past and did not have a Universal Account Number, prior to 1^st April 2016.

Reference base of workers will be determined by the number of employees against whom the employer has deposited the 12% with EPFO as on 31^st March 2016.

Scheme eligibility – conditions to be fulfilled:

1. Establishments registered under EPFO including those registered on or after the 1^st of April, 2016
2. Establishments that are registered with EPFO should also have a Labour Identification Number (LIN) allotted to them under Shram Suvidha Portal. The LIN will be the primary reference number for all communications under the Scheme.
3. Employers must register with www.pmrpy.gov.in and are advised to submit the PMRPY online form at the earliest, preferably by 10th of every following month. If an employer fails to submit their PMRPY scheme form online, they will not be eligible for the scheme.
4. Eligible employers are required to add all the New Employees to the reference base of workers
5. The New Employee’s income should be less than Rs.15,000/- and they should continue to be employed by the same employer.

EPF members now only required to submit self-declaration for advance for medical treatment

EPF members will now only be required to submit a self-declaration for the advance in case of illness of members/ dependents. Differently abled members will also get advance on the basis of self-declaration. A member will no longer be required to submit any medical certificate or any other certificate or document or proforma whatsoever to avail advances under paragraph 68-J or under paragraph 68-N of EPF Scheme 1952.

Rs 50,000 loyalty will be paid to EPF Members

The Board of Employees Provident Fund Organisation has decided to pay PF members loyalty-cum-life benefit of up to Rs 50,000/- at the time of retirement, for contributing to the Employees Provident Fund scheme for 20 years or more. The benefit will also be provided in case of permanent disability even if the members have contributed for less than 20 years.

The Board has also recommended a proposal of extending minimum assured benefit of Rs.2,50,000/- (Rs. Two lakh fifty thousand) on death of EDLI member. Provisions have also been recommended in EDLI Scheme for Loyalty cum life benefit to members on superannuation on completion of 58/60 years of age/total and permanent disablement with minimum 20 years of contributory service as a pilot project for two years. Thereafter the scheme will be reviewed.

EPF Interest Rate 8.65% for 2016-17

The ministry of Labour and Employment, has conveyed the approval of the decision to credit 8.65% Interest for Employee Provident Fund deposits for the period 2016-2017.

Recovering Pf Dues from Principal Employer: An Expert Opinion

No Liability for Principal Employer to Pay PF Dues of Contractor

Engaging contract labour has become a necessity for every employer in order to survive in the competitive scenario. The provident fund authorities insist that principal employer will be liable for EPF contributions for the employees of the contractor. The following articles highlights with judicial interpretations that the principal employer cannot be held liable for the dues payable by the contractor.