Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) customers have been grieving on Twitter for several days about EPFO passbooks not being available on EPFO website, but the issue still persists as of April 25, 2023.
A netizen took to Twitter today saying, “How many days do I have to wait to see my pass book. Almost 10 days I’m facing the same issue.” Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) subscribers complained about several online EPFO facilities being down for two weeks, but EPFO clarified that all services have been restored, apart from EPF e-passbooks and UMANG apps.
A user said, “Don’t understand why the EPFO site is always under maintenance. I am seeing this message for the last 2 weeks continuously, and this has always been the case when it comes to EPFO. This is absurd that, as a taxpayer, you cannot login and check your passbook."
“All services except member passbook have resumed operation. Member passbook and UMANG are under maintenance,” EPFO said. UMANG is a government of India digital initiative to access various government-based services, including access to EPFO statements.
Though member passbook and UMANG app are inoperative, EPFO informed that ‘Know Your Balance’ facility through missed call and SMS is still working and EPFO customers can access their account details.
What To Do?
EPF passbook is a service that displays your EPF account balance month after month. Under the scheme, both the employer and the employee make a contribution towards the employee’s EPF account every month.
Users claim they cannot check this contribution share due to the technical problem with EPF passbook. “We are not able to check monthly share,” a Twitter user had raised concern.
However, according to EPFO, you can send an SMS ‘EPFOHO (your) UAN’ to 7738299899 from your registered mobile number. You can also give a missed call to 9966044425 to know your balance.
EPF Passbook Accessibility
It is necessary to check your EPF passbook occasionally to confirm that your employer is putting the correct amount into your account and that there are no anomalies in your contributions. A
Twitter user on April 21 wrote on the social media site: “Member passbook is still down! I know there is no point telling you guys… but I just wish to attract attention of others tagged in here!”
EPFO replied to him, “Dear member, we regret the inconvenience. The concerned team is looking into the matter. Kindly wait for some time. The matter will be resolved shortly”.
Reportedly, this is the second time in 2023 that the e-passbook on the EPFO portal became unavailable due to technical issues. Earlier in January, EPF customers had claimed the passbook feature was not working, and showed an error message– ‘EPFO services are not available on account of Technical Maintenance related issues. Inconvenience is regretted’.
EPF Scheme
The EPF scheme helps employees save 12 per cent of their monthly salary towards their retirement fund along with similar contribution from their employers.
Apart from financial security in retirement, EPF customers benefit from tax breaks. They also can take loans or withdraw EPF funds under certain circumstances.
