Importance of Marking the Exit Date in the PF Portal
It is important to mark the exit date for both the company/employer and the employee. Failure to mark the exit of a departed employee in the PF portal will result in the employee still being considered in the service of the company. The EPFO can demand contributions, and you are accountable for that. At that point, you might argue that the employee left the service long before or since the contributions ceased to be made. So, why not wait for the demand notice from the EPFO to arrive? Why couldn't you do it as soon as the employee had left?
For the employee, getting the exit date marked is crucial because without it, they will not be able to transfer the PF accumulations to a new account with a new employer or withdraw the PF accumulations. This is because, according to the system, they would be deemed to be employed (in the previous company), and while still in service, they cannot withdraw their PF accumulations.