EPF withdrawals made in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic exempt of tax

Unlike withdrawal made earlier which levied tax, Covid-19 withdrawals will be exempt from taxation. Centre has made provisions that can allow up to 75% of the total EPF balance withdrawal for employees.

Now withdrawals from the Employee Provident Fund will not attract a service charge. Centre had allowed a special provision under which three months salary could be withdrawn from Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) account. The announcement made on March 20 saw Rs 2.8 billion disbursed and 1.37 lakh claims being processed. The whole move was aimed at reducing the distress of employees due to Covid-19.

EPFO office at New Delhi’s Bhikaji Cama Place. (HT Archive)

Unlike withdrawal made earlier which levied tax, Covid-19 withdrawals will be exempt from taxation. Centre has made provisions that can allow up to 75% of the total EPF balance withdrawal for employees.

The withdrawal can be processed either using the EPFO app from the Google Play Store. Employees can also visit the EPFO website to withdraw funds from their account.

Users need to login using their EPFO account using their Universal Account Number (UAN) credentials. Users have to click on “Claim (Form-31,19,10C & 10D)” under the “online services tab”. If your Aadhar account is registered it will ask the user to verify the bank account details. Once this step is completed, users have to click on “Proceed For Online Claim” following which they will select Form 31. The reason users have to attribute for the withdrawal is “Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19)”.