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New Delhi: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has introduced a facility of E-Passbook to Provident Fund (PF) Members through Member Portal on EPFO website. This will help the EPFO subscribers get their statement of accounts online. The e-passbook will also have additional information like name, date of birth and account number. EPFO had recently started the Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) facility for employers for promoting a prompt and transparent service.

According to the circular, the EPF members will be able to directly approach the EPFO website and obtain E-Passbook after entering the following details:
• Establishment registration number (PF Code Number)
• Extension Code (if any)
• Employee Number and 
• Name as per PF account slip

The E-Passbook will be available subject to reconciliation of payments with the returns filed by companies. This E-Passbook facility is available only to active members. However, E-Passbook will not be available to:
• Employees whose PF claims have been settled 
• Employees whose accounts have become dormant (inoperative accounts)
• Employees who belong to Exempted Establishments which run their own PF trust

According to Consultants at KPMG, the E-Passbook facility introduced by EPFO is a welcome step and will lead to greater transparency. It will help the companies and employees in ascertaining that proper amounts are being credited to employee PF accounts.

Over 50 million subscribers of the retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation will benefit from the E-Passbook facility. EPFO is also in the process of introducing the facility of online settlement of provident fund claims in a few months. In order to provide the facility of online application of claims, EPFO would require a central database. At present, all regional EPFO offices maintain their database separately.

Kerala IT News