Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had earlier, in June, said that it was mandatory for subscribers to have their PF accounts linked to their universal account number or UAN or Aadhaar number. Later, the last date for linking the two was extended to September 1 so that employers had enough time to link their staff’s Aadhaar card numbers with their provident fund accounts via the EPFO website.
An order was issued by EPFO informing that the last date for filing electronic challan cum receipt (ECR) or PF return with Aadhaar-verified UANs had been extended to September 1, 2021.
Those subscribers who have failed to link the two may have to face losses, as many of their EPF benefits will be cut. The employees may not be able to view their own provident fund account contribution nor will they be able to withdraw the employer’s share. This rule has been implemented by EPFO under section 142 of the Social Security Code 2020.
The linking of EPF account with Aadhaar wasn’t a time-consuming or difficult process. It just required subscribers to log in to their EPF account via the portal, select the ‘KYC’ option under ‘manage’ and select the PAN no. or bank account number or Aadhar number to be linked with the PF account or UAN.
