The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has made a significant change to the process of transferring EPF accounts.
The requirement for the employer’s approval is now removed in most cases, making the transfer process much easier.
This change is part of EPFO’s ongoing efforts to simplify its services. The update has been implemented in the Form 13 software.
Good News for Job-Changing Employees
If you’re changing jobs, transferring your EPF account will now be a hassle-free process. Previously, transferring your EPF required approval from both your old and new employers.
But with the recent changes in Form 13, the need for approval from the new employer is eliminated. Only the approval from the previous employer is required for the transfer.
This move is expected to benefit over one crore EPF subscribers every year, especially those in the private sector who often change jobs.
Faster EPF Account Transfers
With the removal of the destination office approval, experts believe the time taken to transfer EPF accounts will be significantly reduced.
Earlier, the process involved seeking approval from both the source and destination offices before the funds could be transferred.
This change is expected to make the process smoother and quicker, potentially facilitating the transfer of up to Rs 90,000 crore annually.
Bulk UAN Generation for Companies
In another step to ease the process, EPFO has introduced the facility for companies to generate Universal Account Numbers (UAN) in bulk.
Employers can now generate UANs for large groups of employees at once, without the need for Aadhaar seeding.
This is a significant improvement, benefiting both employees and employers by making the process more efficient.
