New Delhi: Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, announced on Thursday that EPFO has introduced a new facility called ‘Passbook Lite’ which will enable members to easily check their passbook and related summarised view of their contributions, withdrawals and balance in a simple and convenient format through the member portal itself -- without having to go to the passbook portal. 

The new 'Passbook Lite' facility has been introduced within the EPFO’s member portal as part of the reforms that have been undertaken to ensure provision of efficient, transparent and user-friendly services to members.

This initiative is expected to improve user experience by providing all key services, including passbook access through one login. However, for a comprehensive view of passbook details including graphical display, members can continue to access the existing 'Passbook Portal' as well.

This approach ensures greater ease of access for members while simultaneously enhancing the operational efficiency by reducing the load on the existing Passbook Portal and simplifying the architecture through integration of existing APIs within the member portal. The focus of this reform is on providing all key services through a single login for greater ease of access. The initiative is expected to reduce grievances, improve transparency, and enhance member satisfaction.

At present, when employees change jobs, their PF accounts are transferred to the new employer’s PF office through Form 13 online. After transfer, a Transfer Certificate (Annexure K) is generated by the previous PF office and sent to the new PF office. Until now, Annexure K was only shared between PF offices and was made available to members only on their request.

"A reform has been introduced that now enables members to directly download Annexure K in PDF format from the Member Portal itself. This will enable members to track status of transfer applications online, ensuring full transparency and allowing members to easily verify their PF transfers. It will enable them to confirm that the PF balance and service period are correctly updated in the new account, promoting ease of living, transparency, and trust in EPFO processes," according to the government.

The is facility will also allow members to maintain a permanent digital record for future reference which is especially important for calculating EPS benefits.

At present, any EPFO services such as PF transfers, settlements, advances, and refunds require approvals from higher-level officers (RPFC/Officer-in-Charge). This multi-layered approval process often led to delays and longer processing times for members’ claims.

The scope of this reform will include PF transfers and settlements, advances and past accumulations, refunds, cheque/ECS/NEFT returns, and interest adjustments.

This will hold several benefits for users including faster claim settlements and reduced processing time, simplified approval layers for smoother service delivery, improved accountability at field office level, and enhanced transparency and member satisfaction through quicker, seamless services. (IANS)