[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by Pancham

I know its a long shot but has anyone withdrawn their PF funds in the last 3-4 months. I made a claim in February, well before the lock-down, and it is still showing "under process". I tried writing a few emails. They were very prompt to forward my mail to the correct/concerned regional office but from then on there is no response.

Is there a way I can know anything more about my claim other than an 'under process' message?

Did you file the request online? And is aadhar seeded into your UAN along with a linked bank account?

If yes and still not happened file an RTI as OP mentioned. Assuming this is with the RPFC

Separate question - can anybody give expertise, experience on the correct computation for service tenure to determine if TDS is applicable while withdrawing ones PF balance? The general rule is that if service tenure is less than five years than TDS is applicable.

Let's say an employee has worked for over five years with companies A and B and has his PF account transferred and consolidated with B. He joins company C next, submits his UAN but does not transfer his PF balance with B. He leaves company C after a year, does not join anywhere, and applies for withdrawal of the PF accrual for C (as he hasn't transferred his PF kitty from B) after 60 days. Will his PF balance with C be subject to tax? Let's assume that his PF balance with B is not withdrawn.

I know that the first reaction is yes with the contention that had he transferred his accrued balance from B then his "tenure would have continued". Since it was not transferred, C treated his tenure as only a year for the purpose of PF tax calculation. This is notwithstanding the fact that his overall membership with EPF is 6 years (A+B+C) I did not find this "bridging" of tenure mentioned in any of the PF acts or subsequent circulars. If the PF act stipulation is only for an employee to have completed five years membership with EPF, be it with one employer or cumulatively across employers, why should transfer be relevant for TDS at the time of withdrawal? This is especially true in the post UAN world where an employees service history is accessible.

Attaching a circular from EPFO re tax treatment of withdrawals. The relevant part is in the first page.

Appreciate clarifications with relevant examples. The internet is full of poorly phrased articles.

[ATTACH=WSU_TDS_2358 (1).pdf]2028243[/ATTACH]

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Did you file the request online? And is aadhar seeded into your UAN along with a linked bank account?

If yes and still not happened file an RTI as OP mentioned. Assuming this is with the RPFC

Yes it is seeded to the Bank account. BTW, what is an RPFC?

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Attaching a circular from EPFO re tax treatment of withdrawals. The relevant part is in the first page.

Appreciate clarifications with relevant examples. The internet is full of poorly phrased articles.

[ATTACH=WSU_TDS_2358 (1).pdf]2028243[/ATTACH]

When I logon to https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/ I see my service history on the website. The details include the Date of joining and exit of each company.

I'm not sure, but I suppose that they will calculate the number of years based on the data available here. If more than 5 continuous years, there shouldn't be any TDS irrespective of whether the balance has been transferred or not. That's how it should work in theory, but goof ups are always a possibility.

[BRV]

Originally Posted by Pancham

I know its a long shot but has anyone withdrawn their PF funds in the last 3-4 months. I made a claim in February, well before the lock-down, and it is still showing "under process". I tried writing a few emails. They were very prompt to forward my mail to the correct/concerned regional office but from then on there is no response.

Is there a way I can know anything more about my claim other than an 'under process' message?

Please use the Grievance site https://epfigms.gov.in/

I had issues in withdrawing PF and when the grievance was raised, its acknowledged by SMS, EMail and received response back in 3 working days with resolution (this was in last month). I was surprised with the response and quick action.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I'm not sure, but I suppose that they will calculate the number of years based on the data available here. If more than 5 continuous years, there shouldn't be any TDS irrespective of whether the balance has been transferred or not. That's how it should work in theory, but goof ups are always a possibility.

It need not be five consecutive years either, as long as cumulatively it adds up to five across employers it's sufficient.

Employers merrily deduct TDS flogging this notion of 'transfer' while hapless employees lose money. It's sad that an instrument which is supposed to help employees becomes a source of frustration. Finance is happy to deduct taxes as their agenda is different. Meanwhile, the function, which is supposed to fight for employees, called HR, is useless

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by BRV

Please use the Grievance site https://epfigms.gov.in/

I had issues in withdrawing PF and when the grievance was raised, its acknowledged by SMS, EMail and received response back in 3 working days with resolution (this was in last month). I was surprised with the response and quick action.

This is great. Many thanks! Just raised a request. Fingers crossed. How many days did it take till you received the money?

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

It need not be five consecutive years either, as long as cumulatively it adds up to five across employers it's sufficient.

Employers merrily deduct TDS flogging this notion of 'transfer' while hapless employees lose money. It's sad that an instrument which is supposed to help employees becomes a source of frustration. Finance is happy to deduct taxes as their agenda is different. Meanwhile, the function, which is supposed to fight for employees, called HR, is useless

Yes, it's 5 years across employments.

Are you referring to PF accounts maintained by employer trusts and not the RPFO when you say TDS ? If your PF account is maintained by the RPFO then of course the employer has no role to play in the withdrawal or in TDS.

[BRV]

Originally Posted by Pancham

This is great. Many thanks! Just raised a request. Fingers crossed. How many days did it take till you received the money?

Claim was settled in 4 working days.

Online Claim process is pretty simple.

Step 1 - Unified Portal - Online Services - CLAIM (FORM 31,19,10C & 10D)
Step 2 - Validate Bank account number - Click verify - Click Proceed for online claim
Step 4 - Fill in the details like Amount, Address, Purpose, upload scanned copy of Cheque
Step 4 - Aadhar OTP verification and Submit

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by BRV

Claim was settled in 4 working days.



Online Claim process is pretty simple.



Step 1 - Unified Portal - Online Services - CLAIM (FORM 31,19,10C & 10D)

Step 2 - Validate Bank account number - Click verify - Click Proceed for online claim

Step 4 - Fill in the details like Amount, Address, Purpose, upload scanned copy of Cheque

Step 4 - Aadhar OTP verification and Submit

Okay. Not sure why mine is taking 5 months. Maybe because of the lockdown. Let's see what they come back with.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Are you referring to PF accounts maintained by employer trusts and not the RPFO when you say TDS ? If your PF account is maintained by the RPFO then of course the employer has no role to play in the withdrawal or in TDS.

Good question, I should have mentioned this at the outset, what if it's a trust? Does it change things?

It should not, because all establishments, exempted (trusts) and non exempted (RPFO) are governed by the PF act of 1952

[Gsynch]

Do we have any information on Interest getting credit for FY 2019-20? It has not been credited yet, in which month usually it gets credited. Thanks for sharing the information related to this.

[DaptChatterjee]

Originally Posted by Gsynch

Do we have any information on Interest getting credit for FY 2019-20? It has not been credited yet, in which month usually it gets credited.

In the last few years, interests have been credited in the months of September to November. Finance Ministry has yet to approve of the interest rate (8.5%) for last year. So expect a delay this year and perhaps even a lower rate (8.5% is already lower than previous years' 8.65%).

[sachinayak]

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organsation (EPFO) decided on Wednesday to credit interest rate to formal sector workers for 2019-20 in a staggered manner, citing the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on its income.
The EPFO will credit 8.15 per cent to its subscribers for 2019-20 for now: significantly lower than 8.5 per cent it had decided upon in March. “The remaining 0.35 per cent will be credited in December after redemption of the EPFO’s equity investments,” said a member of the central board of trustees (CBT) of the EPFO. The EPFO is staring at a shortfall of Rs 2,500 crore in 2019-20 if it gives out the interest rate of 8.5 per cent to its subscribers at one go, said the member requesting anonymity.

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/ar...0901017_1.html

[vnabhi]

I'm not seeing any PF being deposited in my account from May 2020 onwards. It is the same for all employees in my company. When I asked HR, they said that they have been depositing regularly, but the PF authorities have not been updating the passbook.

Is this the same across India, or only limited to RPFC, Hyderabad?

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Is this the same across India, or only limited to RPFC, Hyderabad?

My organization has been depositing the contribution regularly and the EPFO is acknowledging it. The most recent deposit has been for July, I got a SMS from EPFO about it mid-Aug.