Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (“EPFO”) has issued Standard Operation Procedure (“SOP”) for management and regulation of Employees’ Provident Fund (“EPF”) Exempted Establishments in suppression of all previous instructions and circulars issued till date.
Key Highlights of the SOP:
The Standard Operating Procedure aims to describe–
• the process of compliance to be followed by the exempted / relaxed establishments managing their own Trust and
• the regulations of the conditions and obligations as per the EPF Act and EPF Scheme 1952.
Further, the SOP lays down the compliance terms of the Exempted Establishments managing their own Provident Fund (“PF”) Trust and methodology to monitor the compliance of the Exempted / Relaxed Establishments. It also covers within its ambit establishments which have been granted:
i. Exemption by the appropriate State government under Section 17(1)* of the EPF Act, 1952.
ii. Exemption of any person or class of persons employed in any establishment to which the EPF Scheme applies under Section 17(2)** of the EPF Act, 1952.
*The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the notification, 2 [exempt, whether prospectively or retrospectively, from the operation] of all or any of the provisions of any Scheme
**Any Scheme may make provision for exemption of any person or class of persons employed in any 2 [establishment] to which the Scheme applies from the operation of all or any of the provisions of the Scheme, if such person or class of persons is entitled to benefits in the nature of provident fund, gratuity or old age pension and such benefits, separately or jointly, are on the whole not less favourable than the benefits provided under this Act or the Scheme
Source: Employees’ Provident Fund Organization
