How to submit your EPF claim online; here is all you need to know

Zee Media Bureau/Smriti Srivastava

Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) which was once termed as apathetic and unenergetic, has now became high geared institution in last few months. The organization is on an overdrive in order to make itself more user-friendly. Online claim submission is one such visible change. Earlier this process was carried out through paperwork which used to get delayed most of the time. This change came out soon after the organization introduced a composite form for submitting withdrawal request and took back the need to submit supporting documents and certificates for partial withdrawals.

The time taken to process a claim is expected to get reduced after introduction of online claim submission. But, it would still take 10-20 days to produce output any results because even if the subscriber places an online request, the process at organization's end is still manual. The process now is live on website of EPFO (http://bit.ly/2q1pHG6)

Here, we have prepared a check-list of things you need to do before online claim submission:

Activate your Universal Account Number(UAN)

Ensure that the mobile phone number registered under UAN is in use.

Seed Aadhaar details.

Input your bank account details. This is where the claim amount will come.

If you have not been an EPFO member for atleast 5 years, you also need to input your permanent account number (PAN)

Basic requirements to Submit Claim Online

1. Firstly, you should have activated your UAN.
2. You have to seed your Aadhaar information in EPFO database in order to go through a e-KYC (electronic know your customer) verification using One Time Password (sent by Aadhaar authority at the time of claim submission).
3. If you have registered or linked your Aadhaar, only you can proceed else the website will prompt you to link your Aadhaar with UAN.
4. Other than this, it is also necessary to input your bank details so that once the claim is processed, the money can be transferred online to your account.
5. You also need to seed your permanent account number PAN if have not been EPFO member for atleast 5 years.
6. Therefore, you need be ready with your homework if you have a claim in near future. For online claim submission, the Aadhaar based composite form will be used.

The EPFO, in February 2017, introduced a single-sheet claim form that includes the former forms

• Form 19- Complete withdrawal
• Form 10C- Pension withdrawal benefit
• Form 31- Partial withdrawals

But there are two types of composite forms:

• Aadhaar
• Non-Aadhaar.

Online Claim Submission

The online version of Aadhaar composite form will be pre-filled with your basic information since you would be able to access it only after signing in to the EPF member portal (http://bit.ly/2q1pHG6).

Then, you will have to select the type of withdrawal you want to make.

The types of withdrawals remain the same, while the forms that were used earlier are no longer there

Each form has its own set of conditions that need to be fulfilled to avail a withdrawal.

Final settlement

*For final settlement you needed to fill Form 19 earlier.

• You will need to provide the date of joining and date of exit (last date of employment).
• Above details should be available in the EPFO database.
• You should not be working at the time of submission of the claim in an establishment that is covered under the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
• A claim for the purpose of final settlement can be submitted only after 2 months of the last date of employment.

Partial withdrawal:

Form 31 was earlier used for this purpose. EPFO database should have your date of joining in it.

Pension withdrawal benefit:

• This was earlier carried out under Form 10C.
• Total period of service required, should be more than 6 months.
• These conditions are in addition to those required for a final settlement.

Note: These rules are for withdrawal of the amount that goes from your employer’s contribution to the Employees’ Pension Scheme corpus.

• You will have to authenticate your KYC using an OTP, once you make your selection and are eligible for a particular withdrawal based on EPFO database.
• The OTP will be sent on the mobile number registered for Aadhaar with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Important reminder:

• You can get the payment from EPFO for your claim only into the bank account registered with it and which is shown in your UAN member interface.
• If, in case, you want to use different bank account to get the claim, do not submit the claim online; use the physical process instead, or get the bank account details changed through your current employer.
• If you have been an EPF member for less than 5 consecutive years, the maturity corpus is taxable and you will also need to provide PAN as a proof.
• If you are making the claim offline, fill the form and submit it along with a cancelled cheque, without employer’s certification.
• The online claim process is only available to those who have Aadhaar. The non-Aadhaar composite claim form demands more details like date of birth, father’s name and bank account details. Other than your signature, it has to be certified by your employer.