look news india
A very relieving and wonderful news is coming for crores of subscribers of Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). EPFO is now preparing to launch the very easy and fast facility of withdrawing Provident Fund (PF) directly through UPI (Unified Payments Interface) payment gateway. Successful testing of this new service has already been completed.
After its launch, PF members will be able to withdraw EPF amount directly using their UPI ID without any lengthy paperwork and this amount will be transferred directly to their linked bank account immediately. Now that EPFO is going to launch this modern digital facility, employees should see it as a great opportunity and update their PF records completely without any delay, so that the transaction does not fail later.
1. First of all keep your UAN fully active
The first condition is to activate the Universal Account Number i.e. UAN, which is issued by EPFO to every employee. Employees should first ensure that their UAN is active and fully operational, so that they can easily withdraw money through UPI services. If your UAN is not active, you can easily activate it by visiting the official Member e-Sewa portal of EPFO. Through this portal, along with entering your KYC details, you can also check the eligibility of online transfer claim.
2. Your Aadhaar should be linked with EPF account.
Linking Aadhaar card with EPF account is not only mandatory, but it is also a very important step to withdraw money online. With Aadhaar linked, the process of online verification and transaction becomes completely secure and easy. The most important thing here is that your name and date of birth recorded in your EPFO records should exactly match with the information given in your Aadhaar card. If there is any minor discrepancy or spelling mistake in both the records, your UPI based verification and PF claim processing may get rejected. You can check or link it immediately by logging into the EPFO Member e-Sewa portal with the help of your active UAN and password.
3. Link PAN immediately to avoid huge tax deduction
Linking PAN to your EPF account is a very important step for tax related legal matters and easy access to funds. If your total number of years of service is less and you are withdrawing a large amount, then having PAN card linked can easily help you avoid heavy tax deduction (TDS) on provident fund withdrawals. You can also link this online through EPFO’s member portal sitting at home.
4. Re-check the bank account and correct IFSC code
The entire amount of your EPF withdrawal is deposited digitally only into an active bank account in your own name. If any of the bank account information or name does not match with the name of the account holder as recorded in the EPFO records, your money will get stuck. Therefore, make sure that whatever bank account you have linked to PF, its account number and latest IFSC code is completely correct.
5. Keep your mobile number updated, OTP will come on this.
For UPI based or any kind of digital EPF withdrawal, it is most important for the employees’ mobile number to be updated. EPFO sends a mandatory one-time password (OTP) to your registered mobile number to authorize, verify and final process any online transaction. Along with this, it is very important for your mobile number to be actively linked to your Aadhar card for secure KYC verification.
6. Correct service history and fill e-Nomination
If you have recently changed your job or bank, immediately update your new bank details on the EPFO unified portal and get it approved online by your current or former employer. Apart from this, also check your service history carefully to ensure that there is no overlap in the dates of working in two different companies. Finally, do not forget to add ‘e-Nomination’ to your account, as EPFO has made the process of e-Nomination mandatory for all active members.
