A SPECIAL DRIVE TO CONSOLIDATE MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS OF AN EMPLOYEE
The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India launched the Universal Account Number (UAN) for EPF members in October 2014 with a view to enable members to have continuity in their PF membership on every change in job and/or location. UAN has been issued to all members in respect of whom at least one contribution has been received since January 2014. Instructions have been issued to establishments that in case any new employee joins an establishment, they may furnish, UAN, if any, allotted to the member earlier, or declare that s/he is becoming a PF member for the first time.
EPFO has been advising members to link all their PF account numbers with the UAN so issued and to also seed KYC data against their UAN number. KYC primarily means Aadhaar, PAN and Bank Account. The establishments are advised to upload and then digitally authenticate the KYC information. As on 25th April 2016, 6.77 crore UANs have been issued. Aadhaar has been uploaded against 1.30 crore UAN, out of which 1.03 crore Aadhaar have been digitally authenticated by the establishments. With the enactment of Aadhaar Act, 2016 (26th March 2016), EPFO is now seeking to make Aadhaar, the primary identifier. It is planned that in case of members having Aadhaar seeded UAN, there will not be any requirement of attestation of claims by the employers.
Integration of members’ multiple PF accounts will enable continuance of lifelong PF membership, and allow PF, pension and insurance benefits on combined service and accordingly it is expected that pay-outs to members on superannuation would be significant. EPFO seeks to encourage members to continue their PF membership by offering increasingly better services and ease of convenience. There is no proposal to discourage PF withdrawals, rather the aim of instruction is to upgrade the quality of services being offered by EPFO.
Source- EPFO Press Release dated 26.04.2016
Is any employer realizing the pain that EPFO has been giving them – YES, BUT THEY ARE HELPLESS. EPFO has reconciled their accounts from 2000 to 2014 and given a big burden to all employers to pay interest and penal charges for last 15 YEARS. Is it practical, legal and possible to keep records for 15 years ? How can an employer check accounts for 15 years ? What was EPFO doing for all these 15 years ? If this question is asked to EPFO commissioner, they simply say that the order has come from TOP. ESIC has been reconciling and sending the details for payment every year. Don’t you think that the government is doing injustice to all the employers ? We are ready to pay, but this should have been sent on time, wherein we could check our records, reconcile, and pay. If this was for employees, they would have opposed and government would have taken a back step, as they have done recently. Further, if the amount is not paid, EPFO is attaching our bank, wherein we have no choice, but to pay, as we are unable to carry out our business, without bank account. This has also become a big burden to the SSI units, and the government seem to be pushing them back, though they claim to be helping them. Hope the government thinks practically and resolves this issue.