EPF-Aadhaar linking deadline extended till November 31: Here's a step-by-step guide to link Aadhaar with UAN

The Delhi High Court has extended the deadline for the seeding of the Aadhaar number along with the Universal Account Number (UAN) and its verification till November 31.

Justice Prathiba M Singh said that till then, the employers shall be permitted to deposit the provident funds in respect of employees for whom seeding has not taken place and no coercive measures shall be taken against them. Until and unless the issue of whether mandatory seeding is legally valid or not is determined, as per Aadhaar judgement, there cannot be any exclusion of benefits to employees under the Act, due to failure to authenticate or verify with Aadhaar, the judge said in her order dated September 17, news agency PTI reported.

The court, which was dealing with a petition by the Association of Industries and Institutions, clarified that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) would appoint a Grievance Redressal Officer who can be contacted by the petitioner’s members or any other employer, to ensure that the deposits are not delayed and are made on time. The court said that for employees whose Aadhaar numbers have already been provided to the EPFO, the provident fund shall be permitted to be deposited by the employers without awaiting verification from the Unique Identification Authority of India while the process of verification goes on.