Is it mandatory for companies to have EPF ?

Dear Hitesh

You are right ! Each Company having 20 or more employee must be registered with EPF. If not ask your friend to bring it to the notice of local PF Office. It will be beneficial to both the employee & the state.

Dear Querist,

Please note that law as it stands today is as follows:

Section 1 of The Employees' Providend Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 provides for Short title, extent and application and sub-section (3) of the same is as under:

(3)     Subject to the provisions contained in section 16, it applies -

(a)          to every establishment which is a factory engaged in any industry specified in Schedule I and in which twenty or more persons are employed and

(b)         to any other establishment employing twenty or more persons or class of such establishments which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, in this behalf:

Provided that the Central Government may, after giving not less than two months’ notice of its intention so to do, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply the provisions of this Act to any establishment employing such number of persons less than twenty as may be specified in the notification.

(4)            Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section 3 of this section or-sub-section 1 of section16, where it appears to the Central Provident Fund Commissioner, whether on an application made to him in this behalf or otherwise, that the employer  and the majority of employees in relation to any establishment have agreed that the provisions of this Act should be made applicable to the establishment, he may, by notification  in the Official Gazette, apply the provisions of this Act to that establishment on and from the date of such agreement or from any subsequent date specified in such agreement.

Hence, you are advised to apply above legal provision, as far as possible, in the backdrop of the your facts (details of which are not given.).

Trust this would be fine.

Rabin Majumder

Advocate-on-Record

Supreme Court of India

New Delhi

The company has to comply to the law of the land where it operates.

In your appointment letter company must have mentioned you shall be eligible for EPF, your retirement age etc.

You can lodge a complaint with the government :

online at www.epfindia.gov.in and to Central Provident Fund Commissioner at cpfc@epfindia.gov.in

You shall be issued a complaint number and response time of 1 month.You should complete name and address of registered office of the company in India and address of your office where you are employed.You may appeal to entitle you form the date of your appointment and offer to pay the employees share, and ask for deposit of employer's share in your a/c.

You can escalate the matter to PRO, CPIO, and you can also raise RTI.

The government impose heavy penalties on defaulters and offenders.

Hi Doab,

Thanks a lot for your advice.

In my appointment letter the company had not mentioned anything about EPF. But that time i didn't bother about , as I thought that is something every company has by default.

Do you think I can still file a complaint ?

regards,

H

Mr.Rabin Majumder and Mr. Mahapatra have made useful observations.

You can use your rapport and inquire from company why the EPF is not provided.They must have some logic suitable to them.However your rights should not be denied.

Each company has to register and display the certifictes at the main enternace.You can find the office address of HO/registered office of the company and you have the address of your office.You can visit the local office of the Regional PF commissioner and staff shall help you.

You can always raise query/complaint with EPF authorities and let the company submit their reply and later raise thru RTI you can obtain the certified copies.

You shall get very useful and relevant info at the website of epf . The contact details of the officers is also available.

Even if your appointment letter does not mentin about Pf or for that matter even if it says that there shall be no PF or even if you have signed an agreement sufrrendering PF rights, working in India they cannot avoid statutory duty.  Their HR head can be liable for prosecution and may not like to go to jail.