UAN must for PF claim from Jan 1

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 22 

Come January 1, PF claims if filed without activating Universal Account Number (UAN) will not be entertained by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). 

Giving further information about the new guidelines issued by the Central PF Commissioner, New Delhi, regional PF Commissioner Dheeraj Gupta said the new amendments would come into effect from January 1, 2016, and all PF claims were required to fulfill the mandatory UAN and digital signature formalities, else they would not be received by the EPFO.

“Directions have been issued by the Central PF Commissioner, New Delhi, that every claim form must have a UAN. KYC like bank account, PAN number, passport or Aadhaar number must also be seeded with UAN and the same must be attested by employer with his digital signature. In the absence of above cited instructions, claim form will not be received at the PF office from January 1 onwards,” Gupta said.

Gupta added that members whose KYC were approved with digital signature by employer would be attended on priority and their claims would be settled within two days. 

Further, a special help counter has been opened for UAN activation and KYC-verified members. Now, UAN number holders need not to fill four pages claim form, they can withdraw the PF amount by providing a few columns information in half page and the amount will be transferred to their account within three days, Dheeraj Gupta said.

Directions have been issued to employers that the member who is not having UAN number or whose KYC is not approved by employer should not submit his claim form to the PF office, Gupta said.

So far, 98,552 members under the PF office, Jalandhar, have activated their UAN and still a large number of members have to activate it. 

PF Commissioner Dheeraj Gupta appealed to such members and employers that they must activate the UAN immediately in order to avail benefits of EPF online services.

Employers to face prosecution 

If a member has not activated UAN and his KYC is not approved by employer with his digital signature then his claim form will not be received by PF office. The regional office caters to 6,000 employers of which many have not updated digital signature. All these employers will be served show cause notice followed by prosecutions.