(a) the amount of unclaimed deposits that has accumulated so far in the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO);
(b) the number of such cases, State-wise;
(c) the reasons attributed to such a huge undisbursed accumulation;
(d) the period since when it remains as such;
(e) whether efforts are being made to trace out the bona-fide subscribers; and
(f) if so, the details thereof and the outcome thereof?
MINISTER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI K. CHANDRASEKHAR RAO)
(a) to (f): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (f) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 219 FOR 06.03.2006 BY SH. P. MOHAN REGARDING UNCLAIMED DEPOSIT IN EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUND ORGANIZATION.
(a) & (b) The amount lying accumulated in the Unclaimed Deposit account in the Employees Provident Fund Organization as on 31.03.2005 was Rs. 877.76 crore. The details are at Annexure-I.
(c) The reasons responsible for Unclaimed Deposits are:-
# Non-availability of the latest address of the employees
# Non-submission of claims for transfer / final settlement
# Multiple accounts of a member
# Desire to earn higher returns as Provident Fund accumulations earn better interest compared to the market
# Outstanding balance in the Provident Fund account cannot be attached by any authority or decree of a court.
# The interest earned on it is exempt from the Income Tax.
(d) As some amount is transferred as well as debited each year to the Unclaimed Deposit Account in accordance with Para 72(6) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 1952 the specific period, since when it remains as such cannot be spelt out.
(e) & (f): Yes, Sir. Advertisements were issued in major daily newspapers and all Regional Provident Fund Commissioners were directed to launch a drive for finding out the latest addresses of the claimants from their establishment and to settle their claims. Consequent upon the special drive an amount of Rs. 86.60 crore has been paid out of the Unclaimed Deposit Account during the year 2004-05.
ANNEXURE-I
ANNEXURE I REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 219 FOR 06.03.2006 REGARDING UNCLAIMED DEPOSIT IN EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUND ORGANIZATION.
State wise details of Unclaimed Deposits A/C
as on March 31st 2005
(Amount in Lacs)
S.No. Name of the Region Balance as on 31.03.2005
1. Andhra Pradesh 26,236.85 2. Bihar 6.40 3. Chhattisgarh - 4. Delhi 666.09 5. Goa 503.69 6. Gujarat 240.54 7. Haryana 324.46 8. Himachal Pradesh 1,361.94 9. Jharkhand 5.03 10. Karnataka 322.98 11. Kerala 17.43 12. Madhya Pradesh 30.30 13. Maharashtra 3,631.53 14 N.E. Region 42.81 15 Orissa 11.42 16 Punjab 1,267.33 17 Rajasthan 116.35 18 Tamilnadu 3,884.85 19 Uttaranchal 267.90 20 Uttar Pradesh 1,071.61 21 West Bengal 47,767.08 Total 87,776.59