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EPFO has issued several new guidelines and rules regarding Employee Provident Fund accounts that have completely stopped transactions or have had no transactions for a long time. These regulations are designed to prevent illegal transactions and fraudulent withdrawals.
In a bid to curb fraudulent and unauthorized withdrawals, the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has introduced new rules for subscribers with frozen accounts. Started a strict verification process for accounts that have been inactive for a long time. For that, special rules have been formulated. EPFO has warned the field offices to be vigilant in case of non-transactional and non-functional accounts. Field Offices are advised to be more diligent.
For non-transactional accounts..
Under the new rules, EPFO ​​has identified accounts that have no transactions (debit or credit other than crediting interest) for at least three years as 'transaction-less' accounts. Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) considers such transactionless accounts as inactive accounts or inoperative accounts as there have been no transactions for three years. Further, accounts meeting the existing criteria under Para 72(6) of the EPF Scheme will be declared as 'Non-Active Accounts'. EPFO has clarified that strict verifications should be implemented to allow withdrawals or transfers from these accounts.

Till the age of 58 years.

After the member attains the age of 58 years, the member's account is classified as an inoperative account. Interest is credited to this account till the age of 58 years of the concerned member. EPFO has explained various rules regarding inoperative accounts. EPFO explained the cases where the non-transactional account has a Universal Account Number (UAN), the concerned UAN is not linked with Aadhaar or the UAN does not have KYC verification.
Accounts without UAN Link.

Members with non-transacting accounts or non-performing accounts, if they do not have Universal Account Numbers (UANs), should visit EPFO ​​offices in person. Or attend special camps organized for biometric verification. This mandatory process is established to authenticate the identity of claimants.

Accounts with UAN

For accounts already linked to Universal Account Numbers (UAN), members are required to complete KYC seeding if correct Know Your Customer ( KYC ) details are not available. This can be done through their employers or directly with EPFO ​​(Employees Provident Fund Organization) offices. Authorities responsible for approving UAN generation, and KYC updates vary based on account balance. High-value accounts require clearance from senior officials.

How is Claim Settlement?

EPFO has warned the field offices to be vigilant even in the case of settlement of existing claims for suspended accounts. Before allowing withdrawals from the respective accounts, it has been suggested to verify with the help of digital technology.

What is the status of frozen accounts?

EPFO has introduced a comprehensive verification process to address the issue of frozen EPF accounts. The new approach involves thorough checking of both digital and physical records, verification from employers, and the use of the 'crowdsourcing' method. As part of this initiative, EPFO ​​will reach out to 20 active Universal Account Number ( UAN ) holders employed in the same organization at the time of claiming for verification. At least five confirmations from these members are required to serve as additional identity verification. Requests from previously inactive accounts now require the approval of various levels of authority depending on the amount being claimed. For example, Rs. Approval up to Officer-in-Charge level is mandatory for claims exceeding 25 lakhs.