New Delhi. The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for freezing or de-freezing accounts.
The EPFO has set the time limit for freezing an individual or establishment’s account for verification to 30 days, while this time limit can be extended by 14 days.
Let us know the latest SOP of EPFO regarding freezing and defrizing of Universal Account Number (UAN) of EPF subscribers, which has been issued on July 4, 2024.
What does freezing of EPF account mean?
Freezing means deactivation of several activities under different categories
1. Login to Unified Portal (Member/Employer)
2. Creation of new UAN or linking of MID to existing UAN
3. Any addition or change in member profile and KYC/employer DSC
4. Any deposit through Appendix-E, VDR Special, VDR Transfer-in etc. in any MID
5. Any settlement of claim/fund transfer or withdrawal
6. Registration of new establishment on the basis of same PAN/GSTN etc. including use of Aadhaar/PAN/DSC of employer/authorized signatory.
De-freezing
De-freezing means that the work which has been stopped has to be restored and found correct after verification within a stipulated time frame.
EPFO said that the categories represent classification of individuals or groups of MIDs/UANs/establishments which require proper verification to ensure security of money to the rightful members.
Category A: MIDs/UANs/Establishments which are identified and notified by the Head Office from time to time.
Category B: MIDs/UANs/Establishments where any fraudulent withdrawal is attempted including alteration of member profile and KYC details in the form of fund transfer or claim to someone other than the actual member.
Category C: MIDs/UANs/where deposits have been made through Appendix-E, VDR Special, Special 10D, VDR Transfer-in etc. without the approval of the competent authority and/or without following the instructions issued in this regard.