Provident Fund interest deposits: Every employed person has an account in Provident Fund or Provident Fund account. It is also necessary and also very important from the point of view of saving.
Government also wants people to make full use of this account and people also want that they should make full use of this account. In the eyes of the people, it is the most interest-paying account, while in the eyes of the government, it remains a medium to fulfill the social responsibility. Holi is on March 8 and 6.5 crore account holders linked to PF are expected to get a gift from the government, but the wait is getting longer and now clouds of uncertainty have engulfed.
What is the whole matter
PF account holders are getting scared. The interest of 21-22 has not yet been paid by the EPFO department while the year of 22-23 is also going to be completed. It is being said that whatever multiplication should have been done till March 31, 22 would have been done, but no one is giving the exact answer as to why the interest was not added. The government has also been asked questions about this. It is being said by the government that this is the work of the department and the department does this work with complete independence. The government has no role in this.
What do the formulas say
At the same time, experts say that the government had announced in Budget 2021 that if more than Rs 2.5 lakh is deposited in the PF account annually, then tax will be payable on the interest earned. At the same time, the limit for government employees has been increased to Rs 5 lakh annually. Now it is being told that for some such changes, changes are being made in the software of EPFO and its testing is going on, due to which interest transfer is not being done yet. Experts also say that the work of change in this software started late and due to the time taken in the work, it has been delayed.
What does EPFO say on delay
At the same time, when the government officials of the EPFO department are asked about this, then they too are unable to give a clear answer. They also do not have any concrete information that till when people will get money in their account. On the other hand, the patience of the account holders is breaking.
All kinds of questions have gone home in his mind and the answer is not being found anywhere. Explain that on March 12, 2022, a recommendation was made by the EPFO department to pay interest at the rate of 8.10 percent, which was approved by the Finance Ministry in June 2022. Please tell that this interest rate was fixed at 8.5 percent for 20-21.
Till when interest can be received
It is now believed that PF account holders can get interest from the government till the end of February before Holi. Still this hope is tied. On behalf of EPFO, interest can be transferred to the account of PF account holders on their deposits. Earlier it was believed that this amount would come into the account in the month of December but it did not happen.
After this, it was said that this work would be completed with the budget, but due to some reasons it could not be done. But now the date of Holi is awaited. People believe that along with the announcement of dearness allowance given to government employees, EPFO can also announce to add interest to the account.
PF interest rate
Explain that in 2020-21, the interest rates on PF were announced at 8.5 percent. But this money was deposited in the account in December. That is, despite the announcement in March, money was added to the account in December. At the same time, in 2021-22, the rate of interest was declared by the government at 8.10 percent, but the money has not yet been deposited in the account.
New announcement in the new budget
It is notable that the government has recently changed some rules related to PF account in the announcement in budget 2023. In the Union Budget 2023, the Finance Minister has announced changes in the rules for withdrawal of Employees’ Provident Fund. Now, if for some reason you have to withdraw money from your PF account before a period of 5 years and PAN card is not linked, then in such a situation, TDS will have to be paid at 20 per cent instead of 30 per cent. These new rules will be applicable from 1 April 2023.
