EPF Registration

The Act provides for three different schemes:

• Employees' Provident Fund Scheme - a savings scheme where the employee gets theentire accumulated balances at the time of his retirement (or earlier - for some specific events).
• Employees' Pension Fund Scheme - is a monthly pension payable to employees on theirSuperannuation or death or permanent disability
• Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme - Provides assurance benefit upon death of employee while in service.

All those entities that employ more than 20 persons are required to obtain EPF registration. Entities having EPF registration must exile EPF returns.Any person who is employed for wages in any kind of work of an establishment or employed through contractor in or in connection with the work of an establishment and whose wages do not exceed Rs. 6,500 per month. However, an employee covered under the Act will continue to be covered under the Act even if his wages exceed Rs. 6,500 per month but will continue to get benefits as if his wages were Rs. 6,500 per month. The Act is applicable to:

• Every factory engaged in any industry specified in Schedule I to the Act and employing 20 or more persons;
• Every other establishment employing 20 or more persons specified by the Central Government in this behalf.
• Any establishment to which the Act applies shall continue to be governed by the Act even if the number of persons employed therein at any time falls below 20.

Employees Provident Fund: - Employee provident fund is a measure of saving for the employees, which can be used as a supporting income on retirement, or as a measure of immediate relief in case of any unfortunate situation. This can also be a savior for employees in case of a house purchase, Marriage of their children or any other requirements as mentioned in the EPF MA 1952, where partial withdrawal is allowed.

On the other hand it offers an economic & medical assurance to workers and its dependents. Besides providing medical benefits to workers and its dependents it also insure worker from temporary or permanent disablement and sickness.

Employees Provident Fund:- After Registration you need to undertake compliance of:-

• Deduction and payment of Employees Provident Fundcontribution along with employers contributions
• Filing of Return
• Addition, Transfer & deletion of Employees Provident Fund A/c on movement of employees due to recruitment, resignation & retirement.

For Employees' who’s basic is less than or equal to Rs. 6,500 per month:

• 8.33% of the employee's basic to the Employees' Pension Fund Scheme
• 3.67% of the employee's basic to Employees' Provident Fund Scheme
• 0.5% of the employee's basic to EDLI

For Employees' who’s basic is more than Rs. 6,500 per month:

• 12% of the employees' basic to the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme less Rs. 541per month
• Rs. 541 to Employees' Pension Fund Scheme (being 8.33% of employee's basic subject to a maximum of Rs. 6,500)
• 0.5% of the employee's basic (subject to a maximum of Rs. 6,500 p.m.) to EDLI

The Employees Provident FundContribution is to be deducted -

• On basic wages
• Dearness allowance and the retaining allowance if any.

Employees Provident Fund returns allow the EPFO credit the Provident Fund dues to respective employee accounts and also ensure that all dues are paid regularly.

Employees Provident Fund returns are due half-yearly. Use Reminder to know the next Employees Provident Fund return due date and Employees Provident Fund payment due date for your business.

• 15th of Every Month Provident Fundpayment (excluding the 5 Grace days allowed) for the preceding month.
• 25th of Every Month Provident Fund monthly return for the preceding month.
• 30th April Provident Fund Annual Return for the year ending 31 March.

Employees Provident Fund payments can be made online through net banking facilities

The Act permits the Central Government, subject to specified conditions, to exempt any class of establishments from the operation of the Act, if having regard to their financial position or other circumstances of the case; it is necessary or expedient to do so.

Where an establishment consists of different departments or has branches, whether situate in the same place or in different places, all such departments or branches shall be treated as parts of the same establishment.

On the application of the statutory Provident Fund Scheme to an establishment, the accumulations in the private provident fund in that establishment standing to the credit of the employees who become members of the statutory Provident Fund must be transferred to the statutory Provident Fund. The accumulations will be credited to the accounts of the employees entitled thereto in the statutory Provident Fund.

The RPFC (Regional Provident Fund Commissioner) allots the PF number to an organization that enrolls with it. For Delhi based companies this number could be DL/92803. In addition to this, the employer allots a separate number to each individual employee. The employee's PF Account number would then be DL/92803/123 (Example).

In case the employee has filed a nomination form, settlement is made according to the last filed nomination form on record.

In case no nomination has been filed, the accumulated balance is divided equally among thefollowing family members in equal shares

• Sons who have not attained majority.
• Sons of a deceased son who have not attained majority. 3. Married daughters, whose husbands are not alive.
• Married daughters of a deceased son, whose husbands are not alive.

In such a condition no new registration needs to be taken, you can simply add the branch or other locations and cover employees of that branch. However if business entity is different like subsidiary etc, then separate registration need to be taken.

If any person-

• Deducts from the wages of a member the whole or any part of the employer's contribution;
• Fails to submit any return, statement or other document required by the Scheme or submits a false return, statement or other document or makes a false declaration;
• Obstructs any inspector appointed under the Act or the Scheme in the discharge of his duties or fails to produce any record for his inspection;
• Is guilty of contravention of or non-compliance with any other requirement of the Scheme; he would be punished with imprisonment up to 1 year, or fineup toRs. 4000.00 or with both.

The offence of failure to pay contributions amounts to continuing offence. In all other cases the offence is one committed once and for all. Failure to submit return is not continuing offence.