NEW DELHI: The pandemic has left many high and dry with little immediate liquidity. Job and wage cuts across the board have reduced incomes and some may find it expedient to dip into their provident fund corpus.
The government had enabled exactly that when it announced in March that Covid-related emergencies would be eligible reasons for an EPFO withdrawal. But, there are a few conditions which may derail such applications if not addressed before they are made.
For one thing, if Covid-related reasons are why the application for withdrawal is being made, then it is mandatory for the Universal Account Number or UAN to be linked to Aadhaar. If this is not the case, the EPFO may reject the subscriber’s request for withdrawal.
Other reasons why such a request may be rejected are simpler, but no less important. For one thing, the money is credited into the bank account which is linked to the UAN. However, if these details are updated while making the request, the EPFO may choose to reject it.
This is also the case when there is a mismatch in the other details provided by the subscriber and the details that the EPFO has on record. Unclear signatures and cheques (the application requires the subscriber to attach a copy of a cheque for the relevant bank account) will also lead to rejection, all of which will likely delay the money being credited in the bank account. Incomplete Know Your Customer (KYC) details are also one of the reasons why such a request, even if it is for a pandemic-related
emergency, can be rejected.
Conditions