EPFO allows regional offices to settle PF claims from other centres

Since April 1, EPFO has been settling claims for withdrawal of special Covid-19-related advances within three days. It has settled over 80,000 claims amounting to Rs 270 cr on daily basis since April

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched a facility which will help formal sector workers to expeditiously withdraw the provident fund claims.

“Taking a big leap towards ensuring uniform standards of service delivery across the country and optimum utilisation of its workforce during Covid-19 Pandemic, EPFO has recently launched a multi-location claim settlement facility. This facility will bring a paradigm shift by allowing EPFO offices to settle online claims from any of its regional offices, across the country,” the Union labour and employment ministry said in a statement.

To be sure, in the past few years, the EPFO had moved the claim settlement process for its subscribers online for those who linked their Universal Account Number with Aadhaar. After the settlement of the claim, the money is transferred directly into the bank accounts of subscribers. The EPFO has more than 60 million active subscribers.

But till now, the claims of subscribers, even if filed online, were settled in a particular regional office of EPFO where the establishment was registered. For instance, the EPF claims of a formal sector employee belonging to an organisation located in Mumbai will be settled by officers in the Mumbai branch of the EPFO.

“To reduce the delays by uniformly distributing the claim settlement related workload nationwide, EPFO has moved away from the existing system of geographical jurisdiction for claim processing by rolling out multi-location claim settlement facility. This will allow offices with lesser workload to share the burden of offices that have accumulated a higher level of pendency, due to COVID-19 restrictions,” the ministry statement said.

The EPFO tried the pilot for formal sector employees based out of establishments registered in Gurgaon on June 10. “The claims of employees pertaining to the regional office of Gurugram Region were settled by EPFO staff deployed in Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar offices,” the statement added.

Since April 1, the EPFO has been settling claims for withdrawal of special Covid-19-related advances for subscribers within three days. The EPFO has settled more than 80,000 claims amounting to Rs 270 crore on a daily basis since April.