NEW DELHI: Over 10 days since the Kerala high court passed an interim order directing the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation to do away with the mandatory clause requiring applicants to submit proof of prior permission for PF contributions based on actual basic salaries to opt for higher pension, EPFO is yet to drop the controversial clause from its unified web portal.
On April 12, the Kerala high court had directed the pension fund manager to remove the mandatory submission under Para 26 (6) from its application form within 10 days.
With the May 3 deadline for submissions now drawing near, the inaction from EPFO not only keeps applicants confused as to how they should proceed with their submissions, but also leaves them wondering about the method of deposit, how much they will have to shell out, the interest payable and how pension will be computed, all of which EPFO had promised to clarify through a circular.
While HR experts welcomed the pension fund manager’s latest circular to its field officers detailing how applications submitted should be scrutinised, and what to do in case of shortcomings at the level of employee or employer, they pointed to the lack of clarity over how much time employers will have to provide salary related information for every applicant, once they make their submissions through theunified portal. Clarity on this is also not available in any EPFO circualar yet.
In the absence of clarity on several such issues, subscribers are finding it difficult to decide whether they should exercise the option for higher pension.
At present, EPFO has said that dues will only be calculated once joint applications con-taining wage details provided by employers are cross-verified with EPFO data. Only after that, an order will be passed for depositing or transferring of dues.
In cases of mismatch in data available with EPFO or information submitted by the employer and employee, a month will be granted to rectify the information.