Accepting requests from employers, the Centre has relaxed the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar for filing the electronic challan-cum-return (ECR). The revised date, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation said, will be September 1.
June 15 was the last date for employers for remitting their share of provident fund for May by linking the Aadhaar cards of employees with their account.
Various groups of employers had approached the Union Labour Ministry and the EPFO, seeking time for completing the procedure. A circular issued by the EPFO on Tuesday said the date for seeding Aadhaar numbers of employees is changed to September 1, from June 1.
Earlier, the EPFO had said in a message to employers that “with the coming into force of Section 142 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, the ECR (Electronic Challan cum Return) shall be allowed to be filed only for those members whose Aadhaar numbers are seeded and verified with the UANs (Universal Account Number), w.e.f., 01.06.2021.”
The EPFO has also told the employers that its website was down on Tuesday, the last date for filing ECR of employer’s share of PF. So the employer should send a mail to the EPFO office that any delay in filing the return was not intentional. An official said such a step is to ensure that the interest on the deposit is not impacted due to the delay in remittance.
For smoother withdrawal
A senior Government official had told BusinessLine that it is better if there is seeding of Aadhaar with UAN at time of deposit so there is no hassle during withdrawal. He had also said that the problem of not seeding mainly concerned employers, and not employees.
Employers had also approached the court for extension of time to fulfil the requirement.