Multiple UAN Merging

The provident fund rules state that an employee should possess only one UAN Account. If an employee is assigned two UANs, the employee has to deactivate the previous UAN. This article discusses the merging procedures of UAN of different EPF accounts.

Multiple UANs

A new UAN is created when an employee changes his/her job, and all EPF accounts must be linked with the UAN. In addition to this, there are various reasons for allotment of new UAN to an employee. Some of these reasons are given below.

• The employee does not disclose the previous UAN to the new employer: When an employee switches job, the previous UAN and EPF account number (Member ID) has to be disclosed. If these details are not given, the employer opens a new UAN and EPF account.
• Non-furnishing of 'Date of Exit': The previous employer has to specify the date in the Electronic Challan and Return (ECR). If this is not provided on time, the new establishment allocates a new UAN to the employee.

It is illegal to have two UANs at the same time. A member should have only one UAN, and all the EPF accounts must be linked with it. Therefore, an EPF account that is linked with one UAN will be transferred to another EPF account linked with a different UAN.

Merging Procedures

If there are two UANs, the previous account must be deactivated. The deactivation can be carried out by two methods, which has been described below:

Method I

Step 1: Report the Issue The employee has to report this issue to the employer or the EPFO on an immediate basis. Step 2: Send an email The employer has to respond by sending an email to EPF officials. Step 3: Verification EPFO conducts enquiries for this issue. Step 4: Activation of the UAN The previous UAN will be blocked, and the current UAN will be kept alive. Step 5: Submitting a Claim The employee has to submit a claim to transfer the EPF account that is linked with the blocked UAN to the active account.

Method II

The above-mentioned method is a time-consuming process, and the resolution rate is very low. Therefore, EPFO has developed a new mode by which it will be easier for a member to merge two UANs. Method II is explained below for your reference: Step 1: Application to Transfer EPF The concerned members must first apply for a transfer of old EPF to the new one. The EPFO's system automatically identifies the EPF accounts of the employee which is to be transferred. Step 2: Identification of Accounts Once the account is appropriately identified, old UANs for EPF transfer will be processed to a new EPF account that has a different UAN. The previous UAN will be deactivated by EPFO. Step 3: Blocking of UAN Once the old UAN is blocked, the employee's previous member ID is linked to the current UAN. Step 4: SMS Notification The deactivation status will be notified to the employee through an SMS. Step 5: Activation of the Account If the employee has not activated the new UAN, he/ she will be requested to activate it to get the updated status of the account. Step 6: PF Arrears The employee may now claim for the PF arrears from the previous employer. Step 7: Auto-Population of the UAN Number The system auto-populates the new UAN number in the ECR. Step 8: Receiving Arrear The employee receives the new PF account, linked with the new UAN.

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BENNISHA THURAI C
Post By IndiaFilings.

Updated on: December 17th, 2019