The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on March 16, 2026, issued a notification regarding clarification on linking PAN to the Establishment Profile and the introduction of new functionality for manual verification of PAN in cases of minor mismatch in Establishment Name between EPFO records and PAN database.
The following has been stated: -
•The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation portal allows linking of PAN to establishment profiles through API validation with the Income Tax database, enabling auto-linking when names match.
•For proprietorships, the owner’s PAN must be linked after updating Form-5A exactly as per PAN details; similar specific procedures apply for branches and trusts/societies.
•In case of name mismatch, employers can resubmit the name as per PAN for re-validation and record maintenance.
•Most mismatches are minor (spelling, abbreviations, punctuation), causing unnecessary delays.
•A new manual verification facility now allows field offices to approve PAN linking in minor mismatch cases after due diligence, with provision for remarks and supporting document checks.
The detailed notification is given in the document below.
[Notification No.: E-1226217]
