The Delhi High Court has extended the deadline for linking and verification of Aadhaar number with the Universal Account Number (UAN) of employees’ provident fund account till November 31, 2021.
Judge Pratibha M Singh, while hearing the matter, said that till this extended deadline, employers will be allowed to deposit provident fund in respect of employees whose UAN is not linked with Aadhaar number and no action will be taken against them. will not be done.
The judge, in his order issued on September 17, said that till the time it is not decided whether the linking of Aadhaar number with UAN is legally valid or not, as per the decision of Aadhaar, it is not necessary to verify or authenticate with Aadhaar. Failure to do so cannot deprive the employees of any benefits under the law.” According to the circular issued by the central government on June 15, the deadline was set for September 1.
“The persons whose Aadhaar number is yet to be linked with UAN shall be given time till November 30, 2021 to complete the same,” the order said. Deposit of Provident Fund contribution will be allowed in respect of employees whose Aadhaar number is yet to be linked with UAN. Those who have not done so yet, no punitive measures will be taken against them.
The court, hearing a plea by Association of Industries and Institutions, clarified that Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) will appoint a grievance redressal officer. This officer may be approached by the members of the petitioner or any other employer, to ensure that the deposit is not delayed and is done in time.
The court said that in case of employees whose Aadhaar number has already been provided to the EPFO, the companies will continue to deposit the provident fund in their account without waiting for its verification from the Universal Identification Authority of India. During this the verification process will continue.
