If you are looking to transfer your provident fund (PF) balance from an exempted to an un-exempted organisation, you will have to apply to the respective Trust for transfer of the PF and Pension Fund. As of now, the entire process is offline. While a PF transfer from an un-exempted organisation to another un-exempted organisation is relatively simpler, the transfer of PF from an exempted to an un-exempted organisation follows a different process.
One of the least important things that employees look at while switching jobs is the status of the new organisation, i.e. whether it is an exempted organisation or an un-exempted firm under the EPF Act. In fact, the first time most of them hear about any such distinction is when they try to transfer their provident fund (PF) from their previous employer to the new employer. Exempted organisations are those which manage the PF and Pension Fund by themselves ( subject to EPFO guidelines), while un-exempted are those where the Pension Fund is maintained by the EPFO. In other words, in exempted firms, the PF is maintained by a Trust.
Which Form for PF transfer
One needs to fill a Transfer Claim Form – Form 13 (Revised) and address it to the PF A/C with Exempted Establishment by mentioning the Trust Name and the Trust Address, i.e. .
Details of previous employer
You will need the PF account number of the PF maintained with the previous exempted employer. For an exempted organisation, the Pension fund number could be a different one, which will also be required while filling the form. Lastly, you will need the full address of the previous employer.
Details of current employer
The PF account number and the Pension fund number along with the name and address of the present company needs to be mentioned on the form.
Attestation of the Form
You will need to get the Form 13 (Revised) attested which can either be from the present employer or the previous employer. In case the claim is attested by the present employer, claim should be submitted with the PF Office under which the present account is maintained. It will be better to get it attested from the previous employer as the PF funds are to be transferred by them.
Essentials
At the time of filing the form, you will be asked to enter the bank account details. Although, its a transfer for which you are applying, the bank account details will help for verification purpose even if the PF money will get transferred to your present account number maintained with the EPFO Office. Also, it is better to mention the mobile number even though its not mandatory as communication will be faster. As the previous PF was maintained by PF Trust of the exempted establishment, one needs to send one copy of the filled up Form-13(Revised) to the previous employer and another to the PF Office for transferring the service details under the Pension Fund to the new account.
Delay in transfer
A delay in the transfer may occur because of incomplete or a wrong piece of information furnished in the PF transfer form. There is another important reason for the PF transfer to get delayed. In the transfer process, the EPFO office sends the PF funds to the exempted establishment along with an Annexure-K. If the Annexure-K is missing, the exempted organisation sends a request to the EOFO office to generate and upload it in the system. While uploading the Annexure-K, the concerned EPFO office is required to complete the remaining information like ‘From Member ID’ and ‘To Member ID’.
Non receipt of Annexure K by the exempted organisation i.e. your previous organisation could be a reason for a delay and its better to get in touch with them to ensure about it. For longer delays, one may raise a complaint directly with the EPFO.