New Delhi6 minutes ago
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On March 28, EPFO approved the increase in the limit of auto claim from PF to ₹ 5 lakh.
Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has changed the claim settlement process of PF account. Employees will no longer need to upload a canceled check or bank passbook image to verify the name at the time of claim settlement.
Along with this, the approval of the employer has been removed from the bank seeding process of the employee in UAN. EPFO members will now be able to verify the new bank account number and IFSC code through Aadhaar OTP.
New rules brought due to delay in claim settlement
- Claims were rejected due to uploading documents with old poor image quality. This also delayed the claim settlement process.
- In the new process, the name of the member is verified while uploading a bank account details from UAN, so extra documents will not be required. This will directly benefit about 7 crore PF account holders.
Bank seeding delay due to employer approval
- In the financial year 2024-25, 1.3 crore members requested for bank seeding, in which the approval of the employer was delayed on an average 13 days. Due to this, 14.95 lakh requests are pending with the employer.
- Members will be able to verify the new bank account number and IFSC code through Aadhaar OTP.
Trial of change in settlement process from May 2024
The trial of change in the process of uploading a canceled check or bank passbook image in the claim settlement process has been going on since May 28, 2024. Initially it was brought as a pilot project which benefited 1.7 crore employees. Now it has been implemented to all.
Auto claim limit from PF will increase to ₹ 5 lakh
Earlier on March 31, EPFO approved the proposal to increase the limit of Auto Settlement of Advance Claim (ASAC) from 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh from PF account. According to the ANI report, Sumita Davra, Secretary, Ministry of Labor and Employment, passed the proposal in the 113rd meeting of the EPFO’s Executive Committee (EC) held in Srinagar on March 28.
After getting the proposal from the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), employees will be able to withdraw up to Rs 5 lakh from the PF account without manual verification.
PF auto claims up to 1 lakh rupees can be done right now
Currently EPFO members can claim PF auto claims up to ₹ 1 lakh. To withdraw the amount above this, a manual investigation of EPFO officers is required.
After the new proposal, the limit of auto claim will increase 5 times to ₹ 5 lakh. The system for clearance will give auto-April.
What is an auto claim?
Auto Settlement of Advance Claim (ASAC) or Auto Claim PF (Provident Fund) has an automated software system. It approves your PF withdrawal or settlement claim without manual examination.
If your KYC (Aadhaar, PAN, bank account) is verified with EPFO, then this system approves your claim in 3 to 5 days. In this, you do not need to submit documents or go to office.
Employees will be able to withdraw PF money from UPI and ATM
Earlier on March 26, Sumita Davra had informed that EPFO members will soon be able to withdraw PF money from UPI and ATM. Its limit will be up to one lakh rupees. This facility is expected to begin by the last or early June this year.
Sumita said that for this, employees will be given an EPFO withdrawal card like debit cards. With this, they will be able to withdraw money immediately from ATM. Users will also be able to check their PF balance through UPI. Currently, EPFO members take up to 2 weeks in online claim process.
It aims to make the process easier
- According to Sumita Davra, the purpose of this expansion is to give maximum financial flexibility to the workforce of the country.
- EPFO has improved its digital infrastructure by integrating more than 120 databases to make withdrawals easier.
- The time of the claim process has been reduced to only three days. Now 95% of claims are automated and plan to improve further.
How to withdraw PF money from ATM and UPI?
In this new process, EPFO will issue a special ATM card to its subscribers, which will be linked to their PF account. By using this card, subscribers will be able to withdraw their PF money directly from ATM machines.
At the same time, to withdraw money from UPI, you have to link your PF account to UPI. After this, subscribers will be able to transfer PF money to their bank account.
75% money of PF will be withdrawn after one month after going to the job
Under the PF withdrawal rule, if a member’s job goes away, then after 1 month he can withdraw 75% money from PF account. With this, he can meet his needs during unemployment. The remaining 25% stake in PF can be extracted two months after leaving the job.
PF withdrawal income tax rules
If the employee is completed 5 years offering services in a company and he removes PF, then there is no liability of income tax on it. A duration of 5 years can also occur with one or more companies. It is not necessary to complete 5 years in the same company.
If the employee withdraws more than 50 thousand rupees from the PF account before completing 5 years in the job, then he will have to pay 10% TDS. On the other hand, if you do not have a PAN card, then you have to give 30% TDS. However, if the employee makes the form 15G/15h submit, then no TDS is deducted.
