Pf Transfer Issue From Previous Employer - DOCX Download

Hi,

Please guide me on this issue. My previous employer is not signing my PF transfer form. When I left the company, there was a problem with my boss as he did not provide me with a relieving letter or experience letter. Now he is refusing to sign the form.

Could you please suggest a solution to facilitate the transfer of the PF amount to my present employer's PF account? Your prompt response would be greatly appreciated.

In the PF transfer form (Form 13), the signature of the previous employer is not required. It is to be sent through the present employer to the PF Office where the previous employer's accounts are kept. The PF authorities will call for Form 3A and a break certificate from the previous employer. A demand for Form 3A, break certificate, or any information about an employee by the EPF Office cannot be rejected by the employer.

If you wish to close the previous accounts instead of transferring them, the previous employer's signature is also not mandatory. The withdrawal forms (Form 19 and Form 10C) can be sent directly to the EPF Office after getting your signatures in the forms attested by a Gazetted Officer, MP/ MLA, or the Manager of the Bank to which the amounts are to be transferred. This is to ensure that the claimant is known and that his signature is attested. In such cases, the PF Office will also call for the required returns from the employer, which no employer can reject, stating that the employee left without notice or that the relationship with the employee was not good.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K

Sir,

I want to know in such a case whether the employer's contribution will be included.

Rashmi Wagholikar

Dear Rashmi,

The PF Act is governed by the central government and has the same rules all over India. Whatever your dues/entitlements are, they will definitely be paid to you. Yes, the employers' share will also be credited to your account.

Regards,
Baba Naresh

I worked in my previous employer from Jan 2006 to may 2009 and in my new organization; I applied for PF transfer in June 2009. It has been 15 months now, but it's not done yet.

One month back when I asked to my current employer they said: The last update is that the forms have been sent to your previous employer by RPFC, Gurgaon stating to submit Form 3A in Jan 10, please get in touch with your previous employer.

Then I asked my previous employer, they said that they have submitted 3A form in Jan 2010 to PF office and now when I contacted to PF office on this they said: Your form has been returned on 22.01.2010 due to non-availability of form 3A for the year 2008-2009.

My previous company is not doing well; they already have changed the company name and location and seem financially very week. I have doubt on submitting of 3A form. I tried to reaching them, but all calls are going either busy or no-one attending the calls.
Please let me know what steps I need to take it up. Any help will be appreciated.

It is not the responsibility of the concerned employee to get the Form 3A from an employer, but the EPF organization should bear it. Therefore, you may make a representation before the EPF Organization detailing the efforts you have already taken to get your previous account transferred. The letter should be addressed to the Asst. Provident Fund Commissioner of the area where your previous employer had maintained the PF accounts (to whom you had sent your Form 13) with a copy marked to the Regional PF Commissioner of that area and Asst. Provident Fund Commissioner of the present locality. You can also state that you have complied with the formalities by submitting Form 13 and the authorities should get the other processes done. If required, you may file a complaint following the provisions of the Right To Information Act later.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

I submitted the PF transfer form with all the details, but the PF authorities returned it with a note asking me to submit Form No. 5 and a break certificate for non-wage-earning days. What should I do now? Please send me a solution, and could you explain what a break certificate is.

Thank you.

I don't know why the PF Office returned your transfer forms to you for want of Form 5 and break certificate. It is usually sent to the company directing them to submit Form 5 and break certificate and not to the applicant because these documents are not prepared and signed by the applicant but by the company where the applicant worked and from where the account is to be transferred. Otherwise, it may be a copy of the letter sent to the company for details but wrongly sent to you with Form 13. Please check.

Regards, Madhu.T.K

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to inquire whether the Pension Fund can be transferred from the old member ID to the current ID. My pension fund has not been transferred to my current ID; only the employee share has been transferred. Is this acceptable?

If I were to leave this company and join another, what would happen to my pension fund up to this point? Please guide me.

Thank you.

Hi,

I am a bit confused about the responsibilities of the employer regarding an employee's previous employer's PF transfer to the current employment. Generally, the current employer shares Form 13 with the employee for transferring the PF to the current employer's PF account and then proceeds with the submission formalities to the PF office. After this, will the current employer follow up with the PF authorities to transfer the employee's PF, or should the employee get in touch with the PF authorities? Please let me know about the same as I am receiving different answers.

Regards,
Sachin Desai

Current employer's responsibility is over once he has submitted Form 13 to the PF office. In order to know whether the amount has been transferred or not, the employee can keep in touch with the PF office. However, as an HR initiative, the concerned officer who deals with the PF authorities can assist the employee to trace the status of the application either online or from the records at the PF office. Anyway, the matter will be clear when we get the annual statement since the old PF accumulations will be reflected as the opening balance.

Madhu.T.K

PF Account Transfer Issue

I have applied for the transfer of PF account "A" to PF account "B" almost 1.6 years ago. Recently, I learned that the transfer got rejected stating the following reason:

"Your claim in Form 13 for transfer-in has been rejected, the reason being 'Form 5/10 along with Date of Birth particulars to be submitted. Please contact 'A' Pvt. Ltd. to resubmit the claim along with the required documents."

I am not sure what this means.

- I guess Form 5/10 is submitted by the company when someone joins. Is that correct?
- Should I now ask company A to submit Form 5/10 to the concerned EPFO office? I am not sure how much company "A" will help me now as they are very unresponsive to such issues and to those who have left.
- The thing is, I have now joined company "C" and do not know if I have to resubmit the transfer form again from company "C"?
- What necessary actions and rights do I have now to expedite this process?

Regards,
Bhagya

Understanding Provident Fund Forms and Responsibilities

Form 5 is to provide particulars of your joining Company A, and Form 10 is the one submitted by Company A when you left that company. Legally, members of the Provident Fund (you) are not expected to initiate such actions since Forms 5 and 10 should be available in the Provident Fund office if the company has been following the Provident Fund formalities up to date. Normally, if any form is missing, it is not the member's responsibility to obtain it, but the Provident Fund office's responsibility to collect it from the concerned employer (Company A).

Steps to Address Missing Provident Fund Forms

There are two ways to address this situation. Either send a letter to Company A requesting the submission of the relevant documents (Forms 5 and 10) to the Provident Fund Office or write to the Provident Fund Office stating that since you have left the company, you no longer have any affiliation with the company, and as an outsider, you do not have the authority to request the submission of any internal company documents. In fact, you cannot compel a company, even your previous employer, to provide you with a company document, but Provident Fund officials can request it. Therefore, let the Provident Fund officials take the necessary steps to obtain the documents. When Provident Fund officials request any document (such as Form 5/10), the employer is legally obligated to provide it, and the employer cannot refuse, whereas when an outsider or even an employee requests any Provident Fund-related document (like any other document), the employer can refuse.

Considerations for Choosing the Second Option

If you choose the second option, there may be delays, and you may need to follow up with multiple letters. You can also copy the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner and the Central Provident Fund Commissioner so that lower officials who attempt such tactics will be alerted.

Processing Through a New Employer

If you have joined Company C, you will need to process this through Company C. It is advisable to submit two transfer forms, one from A to C and another from B to C.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Thank you, Madhu, for your help with this information. I just realized that Company A provided me with Form 5 & 10 when I left them. Now, as I have to resubmit the transfer form with Company C, do I also need to submit Form 5 & 10 along with Form 13? Do I need to submit these forms 5/10 in their original format?

Alternatively, should I raise another grievance query online with the same reference number and ask the PF officials to contact Company A directly for Form 5/10?

Or should I write to the Central PF officer asking them to contact Company A for forms 5/10? If yes, what should be the process and format of the letter?

I have heard that I can assert some rights under the RTI Act. I am not sure how this would apply in my case. Can you please shed some light on this for me?

Actions to Take When Facing PF Transfer Issues

Meeting the Central PF Commissioner and tracing the status of your application or claims following the RTI Act are the only actions you should take when the primary source is not giving you any response.

If you have Forms 5/10 with you, you can resubmit the form along with Forms 5 and 10. It is advisable to keep a copy of the forms before submitting, just for your future reference.

It is advisable to submit Form 13 through the new employer, Company C, because the account to which the original transfer claim was to be transferred is also active now.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

You can also approach the grievance cell of EPFO; it is having a good effect.

Further to the query raised by Sachin Desai related to the responsibilities of the employer regarding an employee's previous employer's PF transfer to the current employment, can you guide on the EPF website where it states that the employer's responsibility is completed once the Form 13 is submitted to the PF Office?

This query arises if an employee claims that "X" had submitted the form to the company for transfer formalities when "X" was employed, and it has not been transferred even after the employee left the organization. The company is responsible for this and should compensate for the interest part of the amount that was supposed to be received as interest from the PF.

Thanks in advance for your valuable inputs.

Regards,

Responsibilities of the Present Employer in Account Transfers

Nowhere are the responsibilities of the present employer with regard to the transfer of accounts mentioned. In my post, I have stated that as an HR initiative, you should follow up and get things done.

Clarification on Employer Responsibility and Interest Accrual

Now, coming to the second part of the issue, where is it mentioned that the present employer is responsible if the account is not transferred? Also, concerning the interest part, who said that an account remaining unclaimed or not transferred in the previous account will not accrue interest? While transferring the account, interest is also added. Of course, after 36 months of it becoming non-operative, interest will cease to accrue, but by that time, it will be transferred to the new account with interest. How does it become the responsibility of an employer when negligence lies with the EPF Organisation?

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Employer has not transferred the PF amount to the PF Account. I left the organization in June 2014. Please suggest what to do?

Online PF Transfer System

This thread was started in 2013 when the system of online transfer was not in existence. Now, with the online portal for transferring PF, you can do it online. You can apply online by visiting the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's OTCP (Online Transfer Claim Portal) and submitting the details.

Here again, like that of offline Form 13, the form can be sent either through the present employer or through the previous employer. In case of submission of the form through the previous employer, the time taken for effecting transfer will be less. For online approval, both employers should have valid digital signature certificates.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Sir,

I filed a transfer claim through the online transfer claim portal and submitted a printout copy to my present employer. However, he has not responded to me and has not approved the claim. What should I do? Can I submit the claim directly to the EPF office without informing my employer?

I had applied for a PF transfer through my previous employer one year ago and received a message stating, "Form 13 approved for payment through cheque, payment under process." After three days, I received Member ID: TBXXXXXXX-XX, PF claim ID: TXXXXXXXXXX, settled amount: Rs 44,280.00. It was sent to A/C No: XXXXXXXXXX (IFSC code: SBIN0000XXX) - EPFO. However, these details are not appearing on my EPFO portal. It has been over a year since I received the message. Whom should I contact regarding this issue? This pertains to the transfer issue for my first and second company, as I have now joined a third company. I need to provide my second employer's details to my current company, but they are not available in my online member service portal. Please advise.

Regards,
Bharani.

Contact the concerned office in person and get it sorted out. This may be due to some small error in the EDP department of the EPFO. So, please visit EPF Office as early as possible.

Madhu.T.K

This thread is at least 8 years old! Now, with the online system for correcting your name, date of birth, etc., you can do it without contacting the PF Office. All you have to do is provide the correct name and date of birth as per Aadhar in your member portal of PF under Manage KYC. Once you have completed this step, the employer will need to approve it. That is all that is required. Remember, this is only possible if you have linked your PF account (UAN) with Aadhar.