It is not unknown that Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO) IT systems are outdated and require an overhauling. Lately, EPFO has been implementing several measures to enhance its processes and system. By June this year, its new version, EPFO 3.0, is also expected to be rolled out. While efforts are made to improve user experience, the EPFO’s website does not seem to reflect these promises.
While the EPFO is streamlining processes on paper, and removed the need to get unnecessary approvals, revamped Form 13 for PF transfer, abolished the need to upload a copy of a cheque leaf or bank passbook for withdrawal claims, raised the limit for withdrawals, began auto settlement of claims, the list is getting longer, it is important to ensure their implementation.
One can check EPFO details through its website (member portal) and through (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) UMANG app. However, the website does not open most of the times and even if it does, the option don’t always work.
What Are Users Saying?
Many EPF members take to X (formerly Twitter) to express their frustration.
Hridayesh Gupta posted on April 9, saying, “Not able to check EPFO balance or passbook for many months. Does anyone else face this issue? While it allows me to login to UAN portal and check every unimportant details (name, DOB, service history), but for balance it takes to another website which doesn’t work.”
Another EPF member, Ameya Sabnis, posted, “The excellent EPFO passbook website does not work after entering the correct UAN, password and captcha. A classic java error displayed since last 1 week. Give the developer a reward.”
One other EPF member Pathak posted on April 15 to show his anguish, “Tax on everything but the services are like third world country. This EPFO passbook is not working for the last 1 week but nobody cares.”
A user names Anil Singh post reads, “ye hai naya Digital India me apni EPFO PASSBOOK CHK NHI KR PAA RHAA HU LASt 2WEEK AE KABHI UMANG TO EPFO KI PASSBOOK SITE RESPONSE NHI KRTI.” (In the new digital India, I am not able to check my EPFO passbook. For last two weeks, the UMANG app and EPFO passbook website have not been working properly.)
There could be many other EPF members facing similar issues while logging in to the EPFO website, updating details, or even checking balances.
Of late, passbook option is not working even on the UMANG app, adding to members’ frustration for not being able to check their balance.
As EPFO’s new system is in progress, until it starts working, these and more such issues might persist.
What Can You Do?
One can either lodge a complaint on the EPFIGMS portal or call the helpline number available on EPFO’s official website. One can also approach EPFO’s monthly outreach programme, ‘Nidhi Aapke Nikat’, which are conducted on 27th of every month at the district level. The list of venue for these is published on the EPFO website.
