Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has made it compulsory to file online claims for provident fund withdrawals above Rs 10 lakh.
EPFO has also made it mandatory to file online claims for withdrawals of Rs 5 lakh under the Employees Pension Scheme (NPS).
Currently, EPFO account holders were able to file claims both online and offline for withdrawing provident fund amount as well as pensions.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Central Provident Fund Commissioner on January 17, news agency PTI reported.
For online withdrawals, the subscriber needs to log in to the member interface using Universal Account Number (UAN) and password.
The latest move will enable employees to easily withdraw their provident fund amount for marriage purposes, education of sibling and children, repayment of existing home loan, purchase or construction of the house, to meet medical expenses etc.
The news comes just days after EPFO's Central Board of Trustees (CBT) slashed the interest rate for EPF accounts to 8.55 percent for fiscal 2018 from earlier 8.65 percent.
Under EPF system, both the employer and employee contribute towards EPF account, where employee's contribution goes towards the EPF account directly and the employer's contribution goes to both EPS and EPF account.
