New Delhi: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation has issued circular regarding discontinuation of extension of timeline for mandatory Aadhaar Seeding with UAN for filing of ECR in respect of Establishments in the North East Region and Certain Classes of Establishments beyond 31 October 2025.
The mandatory requirement for filing Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) only for those members whose Aadhaar number is seeded and verified with their Universal Account Number (UAN) was introduced with effect from 01 June 2021.
Considering the implementation challenges initially faced by employers and employees, several extensions were provided through the cited circulars and Ministry of Labour & Employment communications. These relaxations specifically covered:
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North East Region (NER): States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
Specific Industries: Beedi-making, Building & Construction, and Plantation industries (including Tea, Coffee, Cardamom, Pepper, Jute, Rubber, Cinchona, Cashewnuts, etc.).
The latest extension, allowed the above categories time until 31 October 2025.
EPFO has however noted that over the past four years, adequate opportunities have been provided to complete Aadhaar-UAN seeding and verification. Current pendency is marginal and continues to decline steadily.
In order to prevent further dependency on recurring extensions, it has been decided not to grant any further extension, said EPFO.
The retirement fund body has also asked all Zonal Offices (ZOs) and Regional Offices (ROs) to immediately commence intensive sensitisation and awareness drives targeting the concerned employers.
Employers must be clearly informed that ECR filing for the wage month of November 2025 onwards will be permitted only for members whose Aadhaar is duly seeded and verified with UAN, without exception, EPFO added.
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