Mumbai: In a giant respite for employers who were unable to pay the pending EPF dues of their employees because of technical reasons, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has made an announcement. The EPFO, in a circular released on April 4, 2023, had set out some details regarding this new move.
As per the recent order, the employers are allowed to pay their past due EPF through a one-time payment via Demand Draft (DD). EPFO has, however, pointed out that the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) and internet banking shall continue to be the standardised and default modes of payment. The demand draft option will be available only for cases where a technical problem has created a hindrance in payment through the mode of electronic payment.
The EPFO has further clarified that the officer dealing with the case in the regional office should be convinced that the employer is moving towards the DD path only for its past dues and will be clearing future dues through internet banking. The demand draft should be in the name of the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (RPFC), and it will be payable at the bank branch in which the local EPFO office is situated.
EPFO will first obtain an undertaking from employers before incorporating this process. The project must feature the list of all employees who benefit from the payment to allow verification of records in case of any upcoming claims. In addition, an employer must file all applicable returns for the relevant period.
Besides, EPFO also stated that interest and penalties (damages) on dues not paid will be calculated and recovered as prescribed in the EPFO Compliance Manual. It comes as a big relief for employers who had faced technical challenges in making EPF payments, and the approach clears the way for employees to get their pending payments. This will also make the process for future claims much easier and more straight forward.
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