The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on 11th September 2021 extended the deadline for linking of Aadhaar details with the Universal Account Number (UAN) for employees in the northeast and workers of certain establishments up to 31st December 2021.
The EPFO had made the seeding mandatory for employers to submit electronic-challan-cum receipts (ECRs) from 01st September 2021.
In a circular to the regional offices on 11th September 2021, the EPFO said 94% of members who contribute to PF had already linked their Aadhaar with UANs. However, it found a lower percentage of the seeding in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura and certain industries like beedi-making, building and construction, and plantation.
While giving the extension, the EPFO also instructed the zonal offices to make sure Aadhaar enrolment camps are organized and workers are helped with linking their details to the UANs.
(a) Considering the low Aadhaar penetration in the EPFO’s administrative Zone of the North East Region comprising of the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Tripura, the time for mandatory seeding of Aadhaar in UAN for filing ECR is extended till 31.12.2021.
(b) Considering the concentration of establishments in remote localities and in areas affected by insurgency, frequent change in worksites of the workers and other attendant constraints in the Classes of establishments- Beedi making, Building and Construction and Plantation industries (Tea. Coffee, Cardamom, Pepper, Jute, Rubber, Cinchona, Cashewnuts etc.) time for mandatory seeding of Aadhaar in UAN for filing ECR is extended till 31.12.2021.
(c) For areas and industries/class of establishments other than above, delay in filing of ECRs for wage months of August 2021 and September 2021 only in respect of EPF members due to non-seeding of Aadhaar in the UANs should not be presumed as employer’s default for levy of penal damages u/s 14B of the EPF & MP Act, 1952.
Hence, it is understood from the PF Circular that it is not a blanket extension. Only penal damages will not be levied for August and September wage months in respect of unseeded UANs & interest components will be levied. The time extension given till 31st Dec 2021 is applicable only for the above-mentioned areas and classes of establishments. IT&ITES is not part of the class of establishments mentioned in this notification.
Therefore, please inform your employees whose Aadhaar number in UAN is not yet linked, to link it without any further delay, in order to avail uninterrupted services of the EPFO and to remit ECR in the PF Portal.
Actions to be taken:
Employers are requested to ensure that the Aadhaar is seeded in respect of all the contributory members to enable them to avail uninterrupted services of the EPFO and to avoid any inconvenience.
It is requested to upload and digitally approve the KYC details of your employees and also inform your employees to link their Aadhaar numbers with the UAN. Employees can seed their Aadhaar directly through the online E-KYC facility available on the member portal and UMANG APP.
The Way Forward:
This doesn’t stop only with the current outstanding non-linked employees list. If the prospective new joiners haven’t verified their PF with their Aadhaar then this becomes an issue towards remitting the establishments’ future PF payments Therefore, to mitigate the risk of non-remittance, we suggest including a “UAN Aadhaar verified screenshot” from the employee UAN login as part of the induction checklist towards issuing the offer letter. If this process is incomplete, the employee needs to be informed to complete the UAN-Aadhaar verification to avoid PF non-compliance by the establishment.