EPFO told to pay 6% interest on Rs 14 lakh PF claim after 35-day delay: What consumer commission said

The Mumbai Consumer Commission has held the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) guilty of deficiency in service after it was proved that EPFO failed to properly communicate about the issue with the joint declaration application, and this resulted in the delay in settling an Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) claim.

For those who don’t know, a joint declaration application is made by the employee and employer consenting to contribute to EPF on an actual wages basis and not on the Rs 15,000 per month statutory wage ceiling limit.

The consumer commission in Mumbai has directed the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to pay 6% interest to a retired employee for a 35-day delay in settling his EPF claim of over Rs 14 lakh, as per a PTI report.


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The Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, in an order passed last week, reportedly held the EPFO guilty of service deficiency for failing to settle the EPF claim within the stipulated 20-day period under the EPF Scheme, 1952.

The complainant, a former employee of Fleet Maritime Services (India) Pvt Ltd, said in his plea before the commission that he had submitted a PF claim on October 19, 2016, but the EPFO didn’t settle the claim within the prescribed period.

The EPFO, on the other hand, defended itself, saying that the complainant did not submit the required joint declaration with the original claim, and the form was returned on November 7, 2016. The EPFO said that it had received a complete set of documents only on December 2, 2016.

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The EPFO informed the commission that the provident fund claim was settled within 20 days on December 14, 2016. The EPFO , thus, denied that there was any delay on its part.

Why did the commission reject EPFO’s claim?

However, the EPFO’s stance was rejected by the commission. Rejecting the EPFO's defence, the commission noted that the provident fund body failed to produce any written rejection letter or deficiency communication sent to the complainant to prove that the original submission was incomplete.

"On the evidence available on record, the Opposite Party has failed to satisfactorily establish that the claim was incomplete on 19.10.2016," the report quoted the commission as saying.

“The organisation should have processed and settled the claim within the prescribed period and the failure to do so constitutes ‘deficiency in service’,” the report quoted the commission.

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The commission, therefore, ordered the EPFO to pay 6% per annum interest on the Rs 14,06,272 claim amount for the 35-day delay period (from November 9, 2016, to December 13, 2016).

The EPFO has been granted 45 days to comply with the order, the report says.

EPFO’s Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0 scheme for on-the-spot resolution for PF claims

For a number of EPF and Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) subscribers who have their claims pending, the EPFO also runs a scheme, Nidhi Aapke Nikat, at the district level.

The primary objective of this initiative is to provide quick and efficient solutions to employees, pensioners, and employers at the district level, reducing the need for repeated visits to the regional office.

Under the scheme, the EPFO holds camps in various districts across India where it offers assistance related to PF claims, Universal Account Number (UAN) activation, KYC updates, correction of bank account details, pension-related issues, use of digital services, and grievance redressal, as per a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release.

Officials present at the camps register complaints on the spot, verify required documents, and facilitate further processing for timely resolution.

(With inputs from PTI)