How to get EPFO Registration in India?
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a statutory body regulated by the Ministry of Labour and Jobs and formed under the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
It manages a Provident Fund Scheme, a Pension Scheme, and an Insurance Scheme that are all mandatory contributories.
It also acts as the focal point for introducing mutual Bilateral Social Security Arrangements. The schemes protect Indian workers and foreign workers (for countries for which bilateral agreements have been signed).
There are currently 15 Social Security Agreements in place. The number of insured beneficiaries and the volume of financial transactions is one of India’s most influential social security organizations.
The Central Board of Trustees is the EPFO’s highest decision-making body (CBT). The EPFO manages the EPF (Employees’ Provident Fund), the most common investment for salaried individuals. Any company with more than 20 employees is required to register with the EPFO.
Functionalities of EPFO
EPFO supports the Central Board of Trustees (EPF) in managing the Provident Fund Scheme, Pension Scheme, and Insurance Scheme for registered establishments in India, including employees and foreign staff. The EPFO’s responsibilities include:
- They are enforcing the Act across the country (except in Jammu and Kashmir).
- Maintaining individual accounts.
- Settling claims.
- Investing money.
- Ensuring timely pension payments.
- Updating records, among other things.
The EPF Organization also acts as a focal point for negotiating bilateral social security agreements with other countries.
It is also one of India’s most influential social security organizations, both in terms of the number of beneficiaries and the amount of money transacted.
The Central Board of Trustees is the EPFO’s highest decision-making body. EPFO has implemented several IT-enabled tools and techniques to make EPF accounts easier for both employers and employees.
In the recent past, EPFO has conducted a range of multimedia initiatives. Overall, the EPFO serves as both an administrator and an overseer of the Act’s implementation and a service provider for the Act’s protected beneficiaries, including employers and workers (members). The EPFO’s website, which contains a wealth of information and online resources, can be found here.
Given services EPFO UAN (Unique Account Number)
EPFO introduced the UAN, which serves as a unified identity for multiple Member Ids assigned to a person by various employers.
As part of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakaram, the UAN program was launched in October 2014.
It is, without a doubt, EPFO’s most remarkable action in recent memory. EPFO assigns each employee a 12-digit number called a UAN.
Multiple EPF Accounts (Member Id) allotted to a single member can be connected using UAN.
UAN provides various services, including a dynamically modified UAN card, an updated PF passbook with all transfer-in information, the ability to connect previous members’ IDs with current IDs, monthly SMS notifications about PF account credit, and the ability to auto-trigger transfer requests upon change of jobs.
Employees must activate their UAN at the UAN portal to take advantage of EPFO’s comprehensive online services.
Employees can log in using their UAN and password to access a variety of online services, as well as update their KYC information once their UAN has been enabled.
Online Helpdesk for Inactive Accounts
The EPFO website’s Inoperative Accounts Online Helpdesk was launched in February 2015. The launch made it simple to track old or inactive Inoperative EPF accounts (no contributions for 36 months) that do not receive any further interest.
It assists EPF members in monitoring their old inactive PF accounts, settling them, or having them transferred to their current account by providing basic information such as past job details to the extent known, as well as personal information.
What form does the EPFO use to credit interest to EPF accounts?
The EPFO pays interest on the EPF accounts’ monthly operating balances. Every year, the rate of interest is announced. The rate for FY 2019-20 has been reported as 8.5 percent.
Withdrawal of PF funds through the internet
If an employee is unemployed for 60 days after resigning from a previous job, they can remove PF.
EPFO has made it possible for UANs linked to Aadhar to pull their PFs online using simple procedures. Please see our article on PF withdrawal for more information.
Conclusion
The EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) is a non-constitutional organization that encourages employees to save money for retirement.
The organization’s services are open to both Indian and foreign employees (from countries with whom the EPFO has signed bilateral agreements).
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