EPFO: Big news for EPFO members. The EPFO was penalized by a court in Mumbai for delaying the settlement of a PF claim by 35 days, resulting in fines being imposed. The case involved a retired employee with a PF claim of over ₹14.06 lakh. The court directed the EPFO to pay 6% annual interest for the delay in settling the claim.

The complaint was lodged by a former employee of Fleet Maritime Services India Private Limited, who alleged that he submitted his complete PF claim to the EPFO on October 19, 2016. The EPFO was required to settle the claim within 20 days, but failed to do so, prompting the complainant to seek legal action.

The EPFO, however, contested this, claiming that the employee did not include the necessary joint declaration with the initial application. Consequently, the application was returned on November 7, 2016, and only after receiving the complete documents on December 2, 2016, was the PF claim processed on December 14.

Despite the EPFO’s explanation, the Consumer Commission rejected their argument, pointing out the lack of evidence to support that the application was incomplete or that the employee was informed of any deficiencies. The Commission ruled that the EPFO should have settled the claim within the specified timeframe, deeming the delay a service shortfall.

Following the deliberation, the Commission instructed the EPFO to pay 6% annual interest on the Rs 14,06,272 PF claim for the 35-day delay from November 9, 2016, to December 13, 2016. The EPFO was given 45 days to comply with the ruling, emphasizing the importance of timely payment of post-retirement savings like PF to avoid financial strains on retired individuals.

However, the Commission rejected the EPFO’s defense. The Commission stated that the organization failed to produce any written rejection letter or communication informing about the deficiency that was sent to the complainant to prove that the original submission was incomplete. The Commission stated that based on the evidence on record, the other party (EPFO) failed to satisfactorily establish that the claim document was incomplete.