The Covid-19 advance was started by EPFO during the pandemic in 2020.
The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), one of the world's largest social security organisations, has made an important announcement about its advance facility. In a notification on June 22, it said that beneficiaries will not be getting the Covid-19 advance. The EPFO is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Labour and Employment and has offices in 122 locations across India. It had offered the tax-free, non-refundable advance in March, 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, and then again during the second wave in May, 2021.
"As Covid-19 is no more a pandemic, the competent authority has decided to discontinue the said advance with immediate effect. This will be applicable to the exempted trusts also and accordingly may be intimated to all the Trusts coming under your respective jurisdictions," the EPFO notification said.
Till now, EPFO subscribers could avail the advance not exceeding basic wages and dearness allowances for three months or up to 75 per cent of the amount standing to a member's credit in EPF account, whichever was less.
EPFO offers several schemes, including the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme and the Employees' Pension Scheme.
All EPFO members can access their account details through an online portal, SMS or missed call.
The provident fund organisation is in the process of revamping its application software with the Universal Account Number (UAN) based single accounting system for each member and automation of process flow with minimum human intervention for faster settlement of claims.
It has more than 78 lakh subscribers.