NS Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) had announced that the deadline for linking Aadhaar card Universal Account Number (UAN) has been extended. The unit announced on September 11, 2021, that the deadline for establishments in the Northeast as well as certain other categories of establishments has been extended to December 31, 2021. EPFO also circulated this notice through its official Twitter account. it comes after the extension EPFO The serious inconvenience caused to both the employees and the employers in the past timelines has been realized in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tweet from the official Twitter handle of EPFO read as follows: Deadline for linking Aadhaar with UAN extended till 31.12.2021 for establishments in North East and certain categories of establishments. Please see the circular here:” The circular was also attached to the post.
In the circular, the entity said that the EPFO has extended the deadline for the Aadhaar-UAN linking process for filing electronic challan cum return (ECR) with prior approval from the central government. It referred to a previous extension of the deadline until September 1, 2021. However, despite this, both employers and employees were still facing challenges in completing the task as majority of the Aadhaar card data of the employees needed to be rectified. This year was badly hit by the second wave of the pandemic.
“…Keeping in view the challenges faced by the employers and employees in speedy linking of Aadhaar in UAN, especially after the second wave of the pandemic, in view of the necessary reforms in the Aadhaar data of the employees, the EPFO has directed the Central Government Extended time with prior approval of To compulsorily link Aadhaar in UAN for filing of ECR by 01 September 2021, which was communicated through reference 2 cited above.
EPFO further said that it has noted that about 94 per cent of the contributory EPF members have linked their Aadhaar with UAN in the seeding process. However, it was also observed that it had low seeding in the administrative area of North Eastern Zone of EPFO and in certain sections of establishments/industries including beedi making, building and construction as well as a plantation.
The circular said, “In view of the low penetration of Aadhaar in the administrative area of the EPFO in the North Eastern Region of the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, the time has come for mandatory linking of Aadhaar in UAN. has gone. The period for filing ECR has been extended till December 31, 2021.” The same announcement was made for establishments in more remote areas, insurgency-affected areas and workers in the aforesaid areas such as plantation, construction and beedi-making.
“Delay in filing of ECR for the pay months of August 2021 and September 2021 in respect of EPF members due to non-view of Aadhaar in UAN only for sectors and class of industries/establishments other than above shall be taken as default of employer should not be considered. Recovery of punitive damages under section 14B of the EPF and MP Act, 1952.
Speaking about the latest move, Sneha Padhiar, Partner, Bhuta Shah & Co. LLP said, “The government has taken another step towards digitization, making it mandatory to link UAN with Aadhaar as per Section 142 of the Code on Social Security. Is. , 2020. If you miss the bus, your employer will be unable to make monthly contributions to your Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) account, and you will be unable to withdraw or transfer funds from your EPF account.”
“This link has two benefits for both employers and employees. This will allow an employee to transfer his EPF account balance in case of job switchover and faster claim settlement process. Employers will be able to file Employee cum Return (ECR) challan and credit the contribution amount in respective EPF accounts in a more streamlined and error-free manner,” Padhiyar said.
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