Provident Fund Alert! New rules to be introduced from September 1 2021!

EPFO ने कर्मचाऱ्यांच्या भविष्य निर्वाह निधीच्या Universal Account Number (UAN) ला आधार क्रमांक जोडण्याचा निर्णय घेतला आहे. यासाठी आता अखेरचे काही दिवस उरले आहेत. या आधी ही मुदत १ जून २०२१ ला संपली होती. या मुदतवाढीमुळे कंपन्यांना आणि पीएफ धारकांना आधार न

Starting from September, if your UAN (Universal Account Number) and Aadhaar card are not liked then your employer will not be able to credit any money to your provident fund (PF) account.

To implement this new rule, the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) recently revised Section 142 of the Code of Social Security 2020.

If you want to enjoy the benefits of your retirement fund then it is mandatory to link your Aadhaar Card with your PF account.

Speaking about the new rule and what it entails, Vaibhav Bhardwaj, Partner, IndusLaw, told a leading news site, "The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India brought Section 142 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 into effect from May 03, 2021, whereby an employee or any other beneficiary in order to obtain any benefit under the Social Security Code, is required to establish his/her identity (or the identity of her/his family members or dependents, as the case may be) through Aadhaar number."

In addition to the monthly EPF contributions from employers, if your PF account is not linked to your Aadhaar, then other EPFO contributions will also be impacted starting September 1, 2021.

Stressing on the importance of linking Aadhaar and UAN, Bhardwaj further added, "EPFO has given employers the responsibility to make employees’ accounts Aadhaar verified. In case if the employee’s EPF account is not Aadhaar verified, it may mean that the employer’s contribution shall not be credited into the employees’ account."

Saraswathi Kasturirangan, a Partner at Deloitte India said, "Linking of Aadhar with the UAN is mandatory. Effective September 1, 2021, employers will not be able to remit PF for cases where such linking is not done. Employers need to use this extended time to make sure that suitable communication is sent to employees advising them of the consequences of non-linking, and provide guidance on how the linking can be completed."

The deadline to link Aadhaar with the UAN number was earlier deferred from June 1, 2021 to September 1, 2021. If you don't link Aadhaar with your UAN number by this date, you will lose out on many EPF benefits including taking advances amid COVID-19 and insurance benefits.