The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh has ruled that the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) cannot use software-related issues as an excuse for nearly a decade's delay in transferring money from an employee's old PF account to his new PF account. According to reports from The Economic Times, the commission observed that there is definitely an inordinate and unexplained delay of nearly a decade on the part of EPFO in transferring the provident fund accumulations of the complainant, which amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice.
The case involves an employee who worked with Tech Mahindra in 2009, quit in 2010 to join Infosys, and had two PF accounts due to HR departments opening accounts at both firms. As reported by The Economic Times, the employee applied through Infosys to transfer accumulated funds from his previous PF account to his current one, but received no response from EPFO despite repeated efforts. He filed an RTI application in September 2011 seeking details on the transfer application status, and the correspondence with EPFO lasted until 16 April 2020, when EPFO transferred ₹6.21 lakh to the employee's new PF account.
The employee argued based on his calculations that he should receive ₹11.07 lakh instead of the transferred amount, as reported by The Economic Times. EPFO claimed that interest payments were stopped because the account was classified as inoperative from April 2011, and therefore, interest for the period from 2012-13 to 2015-16 was not credited to the employee's account. In May 2021, the employee filed another RTI application but received no response. He filed a consumer complaint in May 2021 seeking transfer of the balance amount along with interest, compensation, and litigation costs.
In March 2026, the employee received an updated interest amount of ₹3.67 lakh, but the commission ruled only partially in his favor. According to The Economic Times, the commission directed EPFO to pay a lump sum amount of ₹50,000 to the complainant as compensation for harassment caused as well as litigation expenses. The commission also directed EPFO to comply with its order within 60 days, failing which the compensation amount shall carry an interest of 9% per annum from the date of the order till actual realisation.
