Aadhaar compulsory to get PF benefits

Salaried employees in organised sector will have to provide their Aadhaar numbers for seeking benefits under the EPF scheme being operated by retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

Over 50 million existing EPFO subscribers will have to furnish their Aadhaar numbers to the body by June 30 this year. It will also be mandatory for new members to submit their Aadhaar numbers as part of the KYC (Know Your Customer) verification from March 1, 2013.

“It has been decided to make Aadhaar numbers mandatory for new members... joining on or after March 1, 2013. However, for existing members, the seeding of Aadhaar number has to be done in a time-bound manner,” an official order to the field staff said.

It has asked the field staff to ensure the collection of data (Aadhaar) in respect of a member joining on or after March 1, 2013 on monthly basis and in respect of existing members by June 30, 2013.

In case an employee does not have the Aadhaar number, the employer can issue an Enrolment Identity card (EID) as per the guidelines of the body. This EID would be converted into Aadhaar number later on, the order said.

The body would also seek the Aadhaar numbers of its pensioners through the banks. EPFO has decided to use Aadhaar as mandatory KYC credential to improve its services.
The pensioners can submit their Aadhaar number either to their pension paying branch of the bank or to the EPFO office.

The field staff have also been asked to contact the local UIDAI authorities requesting them to set up camps for enrolment in industrial areas and other places which they find suitable for the purpose. The field officers have also been directed to coordinate with district authorities for organising such camps for Aadhaar enrolments.

Earlier, EPFO had envisaged replacing its members’ account number with Aadhaar numbers to avoid inconvenience to those who had to apply for transfer of PF money to the new account with the new employer.