{"id":6292,"date":"2020-05-17T01:05:41","date_gmt":"2020-05-16T19:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/?p=6292"},"modified":"2025-02-07T00:28:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T18:58:34","slug":"delay-in-the-deposit-of-employer-provident-fund-during-lock-down-will-not-levy-any-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/delay-in-the-deposit-of-employer-provident-fund-during-lock-down-will-not-levy-any-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"Delay in deposit of EPF during Lock-down"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_58 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e4e9ac2ecce\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e4e9ac2ecce\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/delay-in-the-deposit-of-employer-provident-fund-during-lock-down-will-not-levy-any-penalty\/#Delay_in_the_deposit_of_Employer_Provident_Fund_during_Lockdown_will_not_levy_any_penalty\" title=\"Delay in the deposit of Employer Provident Fund during Lockdown will not levy any penalty\">Delay in the deposit of Employer Provident Fund during Lockdown will not levy any penalty<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/delay-in-the-deposit-of-employer-provident-fund-during-lock-down-will-not-levy-any-penalty\/#EPFO_Update\" title=\"EPFO Update :\u00a0\">EPFO Update :\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/EPFO.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-8541\" src=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/EPFO.jpg\" alt=\"www.carajput.com; EPFO\" width=\"904\" height=\"602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/EPFO.jpg 660w, https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/EPFO-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 904px) 100vw, 904px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Delay_in_the_deposit_of_Employer_Provident_Fund_during_Lockdown_will_not_levy_any_penalty\"><\/span><strong>Delay in the deposit of <a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/services\/epf-registration.php\">Employer Provident Fund<\/a> during Lockdown will not levy any penalty<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/services\/epf-registration.php\">Relief to enterprises and industries protected by the EPF and MP Laws, 1952 from the award of punitive fines for failure in the payment of payments after Lockout in order to avoid COVID-19.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/services\/epf-registration.php\">Employees&#8217; Provident Fund Organization (EPFO)<\/a> voted not to penalize employers for default in the deposit of the<a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/pf-esi.php\"> Provident Fund (<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.caindelhiindia.com\/blog\/summary-about-the-public-provident-fund-ppf-investing-scheme-investment-limit-income-tax-benefit-features\/\">PF<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/pf-esi.php\">)<\/a> payments during the lockdown. It also clarified that companies would benefit from a lower contribution regime for EPF, as announced by FM.<\/p>\n<p>In view of the protracted lockdown announced by the Government to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and other disruptions caused by the Pandemic situation, the establishments covered by the <a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/services\/epf-registration.php\">EPF<\/a> &amp; MP Act, 1952, are in distress and are not in a position to operate normally. If an agency has filed its returns, known as the ECR, the EPF contributions to workers must always be sent in one go. Not doing so is drawing a punishment<\/p>\n<p>The Hon\u2019ble Apex Court of India in\u00a0<strong><u>McLeod Russel India Limited Vs. RPFC\u00a0<\/u><\/strong>(2014)15 SCC 263 has underscored the specific outlines and basic elements of section 14B of the Act and held the mens rea or guilty state of mind of the employer. Is a sine quannon for inducing claims under section 14B. In other words, the provisions of section 14B would only be drawn if there is positive signs of men&#8217;s rea on the part of the employer when defaulting on timely remittances. This legal status was later reaffirmed by the Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner vs. the Management of RSL Textiles. CA 96-97 of 2017)<\/p>\n<p>In view of the difficulties faced by establishments in depositing contributions in good time during the lock-up period due to operational and economic reasons, it is clear that such delays are without men&#8217;s reassertion of the employer. Thus, the delay in the deposit of contributions during the lock-down period announced under the Disaster Management Act of 2005 can not be attributed to any guilty state of mind of the employer and will therefore not be subject to the provisions of section 14B of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/services\/epf-registration.php\">EPF Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, for any omission in the payment of any contributions or administrative charges due during one of those times of the lock-up. Of these cases, no proceeding for the recovery of compensatory damages will be initiated.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-25741\" src=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPF-.jpg\" alt=\"EPF Vs PF VS VPF \" width=\"1064\" height=\"1053\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPF-.jpg 1064w, https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPF--300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPF--1024x1013.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPF--768x760.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPF--800x792.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1064px) 100vw, 1064px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"EPFO_Update\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>EPFO Update :\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) has fixed interest rate at 8.15 percentage for FY 2022-2023 as per the New press release issued by Employees Provident Fund Organisation Dept. on March 28, 2023.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-28607\" src=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPE-update.jpg\" alt=\"EPFO Update\" width=\"909\" height=\"1660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPE-update.jpg 644w, https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPE-update-164x300.jpg 164w, https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/EPE-update-561x1024.jpg 561w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 909px) 100vw, 909px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Post by <a href=\"https:\/\/carajput.com\/\">Rajput Jain &amp; Associates <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delay in the deposit of Employer Provident Fund during Lockdown will not levy any penalty Relief to enterprises and industries protected by the EPF and MP Laws, 1952 from the award of punitive fines for failure in the payment of payments after Lockout in order to avoid COVID-19. On Friday, the Employees&#8217; Provident Fund Organization &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[258],"tags":[9311,8802,8803,8804,8805],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6292"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28608,"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292\/revisions\/28608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carajput.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}