SOP for settlement of claims in EPFO

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for settlement of claims in EPFO · Submission of original cancelled cheque with offline claim forms.

1. With the objective of improving service delivery relating to settlement of claims, efforts are being made to maximize Aadhaar based payments to the claimants. However, for those accounts that have not been linked to Aadhaar for some reason, it is desirable to ensure that the physical claim form is accompanied by authentic documents to establish the correctness of the bank account details of the beneficiary, without causing inconvenience to the genuine claimants.
2. In this context, Page 4 (copy enclosed) of above-referred Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) contains checkpoints prescribed for scrutiny of claims forms at point 2, stating that 'copy of cancelled cheque/self-attested copy of first page of passbook clearly showing member's name printed on it', be enclosed with the claim form for withdrawal.
3. The issue has been re-examined at Head Office and it has been decided that irrespective of the amount, the claimant should submit cancelled cheque in original (containing claimant's name, bank account number & IFS Code of the bank branch printed on it) with all type of claims. In case the bank account of the claimant is 'without cheque facility', then the claimant has to submit copy of bank passbook (showing claimant's name, bank account number & IFS Code of the bank branch), duly attested by the. bank authorities where the bank account is maintained or by the employer. This shall come into force with immediate effect.
4. This has approval of Central P.F. Commissioner.

Link - http://www.epfindia.com/site_docs/PDFs/Circulars/Y2017-2018/Manual_SOP_ClaimSettlement_21003.pdf