EPFO makes Universal Account Number mandatory for employers

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Monday notified an order to make Universal Account Number (UAN) mandatory for all employers covered under the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

The government was considering the proposal to make UAN mandatory for availing benefits of the scheme.

The deadline for completing the formalities is August 25 after which action can be taken against those failing to comply with the order.

UAN remains portable throughout the lifetime of employees and they don't have to go through the cumbersome process of applying for PF transfer claims at changing jobs.

EPFO had issued more than four crore UANs to employers across the country last July.

These UANs were then provided to workers and the process of seeding these accounts with KYC details like PAN, bank account and Aadhaar started.