New Rule For Provident Funds Accounts effective from June 1 whether it shall be applicable to Foreign Citizens working in India ?

 

Employee’s Provident Fund Organisation has made a big decision about Provident Fund.

According to the source information, the new rule will come into effect from June 1, 2021.

Additionally, the employers have given the responsibility to make your account Aadhaar verified.

In case, if they failed to do so then it might lead to the stoppage of employer contribution credited to your account. Thus, it is vital to link your PF account with Aadhaar in time.

Along with this, UAN should also be Aadhaar verified.

Let’s See what New Order Says

Under section 142 of the Social Security Code 2020, EPFO said to the employers that after June 1, the accounts which are not linked with UAN or Aadhaar or not Aadhaar verified, then it’s Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) will not be filled.

In this situation, the employer’s contribution to the PF account holders might be stopped.

How to Link PF With Aadhaar?

Linking PF with aadhaar is very simple. You are simply needed to go with the two easy steps discussed below.

Step 1: Go to the official EPFO website (www.epfindia.gov.in) and log in.

Step 2: Click on Online Services

Step 3: Then visit the e-KYC Portal and then link UAN Aadhar

What about applicability to Foreign Citizens working in India?

Following is worth noting.

Section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as introduced by the Finance Act, 2017 provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar/Enrollment ID of Aadhaar application form, for filing of Income Tax Return (ITR) and for making an application for allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN) with effect from July 1, 2017.

It is clarified that such mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or Enrollment ID shall apply only to a person who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number. Further, as per the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, only a resident individual is entitled to obtain Aadhaar and Resident as per the said Act means an individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrollment.

However, Sub-section (3) of the said section provided the power to the government to notify such person or class or classes of persons to whom this section will not apply. This means that, the government reserves the right to exempt certain persons or certain class or classes of persons from the requirement of quoting the Aadhaar number in the return of income. 

The above mentioned power has been exercised by the Government and it had notified through Notification No. 37/2017 that the provisions of section 139AA SHALL NOT APPLY to an Individual who does not possess the Aadhaar number or the Enrolment ID, who is: 

1. residing in the States of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya;
2. a non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961;
3. of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year;
4. not a citizen of India.

From the section 139AA, it is inferred that if a person who is eligible for obtaining Aadhaar, has to obtain it and use it for the purpose of filing of Income Tax Return / applying new PAN. This notification has carved out exceptions for the above, therefore only individuals except the notified persons would be required to obtain Aadhaar for filing Income Tax Return / applying new PAN. This notification shall come into force with effect from the 1st day of July, 2017.