EPFO Digitization has been an important step taken to help employers and employees. Read this article to know more about it.
EPFO is a social security fund for employees. It was set up to provide retirement benefits and also provident funds. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) works as an employer of last resort, providing funds to the workers when their employers are unable to do so. EPF has been instrumental in providing financial support to millions of people who have not been able to get any other employment due to old age or disability.
With growing Technology EPFO digitization has also taken place. While digitization makes the process easy it might be a bit confusing for some people. In this article, we will tell you about EPFO digitization and its benefits.
What is EPFO?
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It was established to provide financial security for employees in India. EPF is a provident fund scheme where contributions are made by employers and employees through deductions from their wages or salary.
The amount that can be withdrawn from the EPF depends on the number of years you have worked and your salary package at that time.
EPFO Digitization
Technology and digitization have affected most of the things in our lives and the Employees Provident Fund Organisation is not untouched by it. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has issued a circular that mentions details about EPFO Digitization.
For Example, form 19 which was earlier available in physical form is now digitalized. Below we have mentioned some steps that you need to follow to digitize Form 9.
- Form 19 has to be scanned and uploaded into the system.
- After that, the scan copy of form 19 will be approved and the data will be available in the system.
- The scanned from 9 is also indexed for reference in the future.
Earlier an application has to be submitted for withdrawal, transfer, or loan using the forms. The fund office can accept, reject or send back the claim. Thanks to the digitization of EPFO now this is a thing of the past. EPFO digitization has made the processing of applications very fast. Let us have a look at some of the benefits of EPFO digitalization.
- Universal account number or UAN is one of the most important changes brought about by EPFO. This number is a unique ID that can be used to log in to the provident fund portal and avail of the services provided. This number is also used for the transfer of balance and linking of accounts.
- A new registration process every time you decide to do something with your provident fund is no more a headache. Thanks to EPFO Digitization.
- The SMS service also allows employees to check details about their PF. The UAN is used to start this SMS service.
- Digital Passbook is another thing that has facilitated the provident fund services. A digital Passbook is easy to maintain and can be retained to check the records. This process can be done electronically and is easy to follow.
This way EPFO digitization has made the entire process and transactions of provident funds transparent and easy to understand. Which makes it the best option for the employees of India. If you want to know more about it you can contact Vakilsearch. They have a team of expert lawyers and legal Advisors who will tell you all about PF and EPFO.
Benefits of EPFO Digitization
We assume that you already understand that EPFO is an important thing for an employee. Not only will it provide funds after retirement, but it is also useful in case you need emergency funds for other purposes such as education or medical conditions.
Here is a list of some important benefits of EPFO.
- Employees Provident Fund Organisation or EPFO is a grade option for investment that gives a prefixed interest on the deposit.
- EPFO provides a retirement Corpus which is useful for the employee after they retire.
- Both the employee and the employee contribute towards this investment in EPFO.
- EPF also allows you to withdraw partial funds in case of need. These funds can help in emergencies such as medical conditions, weddings, or education.
- The money that you contribute or invest towards EPFO is exempted from tax and so is the maturity amount that you will receive after retirement.
- The premature withdrawal process of EPFO is quite easy and simple and allows you to withdraw funds in case of emergencies.
EPFO Forms
Well, the process of registering, withdrawing, and depositing funds in PF is easy, but it requires a lot of forms.
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Here we have provided a list of forms that you will require for EPF O services and the purpose of those forms.
- Form 9: The purpose of this form is for declaration and nomination.
- Form 5: This form is used for the registration process.
- Form 5 IF: This helps in availing any claim which is under EDL as a scheme.
- Form 10C: It provides the scheme certificate or the benefits of withdrawal.
- Form 10 B: Monthly pension is availed using this form
- Form 11: If someone wants to transfer the EPF account this form is used too.
- Form 14: LIC policy is purchased using this form.
- From 15G: Tax saving benefits are availed using this form.
- From 19: For settling the EPF this form is used.
- Form 20: In case of the death of the employee this form is used for settling the Employees Provident Fund.
- Form 31: This form is used for withdrawing from EPF.
Conclusion
EPFO is financial support for many employees, especially after retirement. Even in the case of the death of the employee, the Nominee gets the amount that has been invested in the EPF funds.
Many things in EPFO have been digitalized. This has made things simpler and easy for many people. EPFO digitization is an important step taken by the government to make the process move smoothly. If you are an employee and want to get your EPF registration done, you can take help from Vakilsearch. They have a team of legal experts who will help you through the entire procedure and make it completely hassle free for you.
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