Employees' Provident Fund Organisation Implements Reforms to Accelerate Claim Settlements and Simplify Bank Verification

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (“EPFO”), through a circular dated April 3, 2025, has introduced key amendments to streamline the online claim settlement process. These changes aim to expedite claim disbursals and minimize rejections arising from previously mandatory requirements that have now been removed.

Under the revised guidelines, members are no longer required to upload images of their cheque leaf or attested bank passbook when filing claims online, provided that their bank account linked to the Universal Account Number (UAN) has been validated by the respective bank or the National Payments Corporation of India (“NPCI”).

Additionally, the EPFO has eliminated the necessity for employer approval during the bank account seeding process. Pending Know Your Client (“KYC”) seeding requests will now be automatically approved upon successful verification by the bank or NPCI, further facilitating a smoother and faster verification workflow.