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The Labour Ministry has informed the EPFO that its proposal to reduce PF Administrative charges will get approval after the upcoming polls are concluded in four states – Manipur, Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in March. The Election Commission of India have announced the poll dates earlier in the first week of January 2017. The EPFO sent an official proposal to the Ministry of Labour on January 4 th , 2017 to reduce administrative charges for companies from 0.85% to 0.65% of worker’s salary for its EPF scheme. It also proposed doing away with administrative charges 0.01 per cent of worker’s salary levied to implement the EDLI- Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance scheme, 1976. The decision to reduce administrative charges was taken at EPFO’s central board of trustees meeting, chaired by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, in December, 2016. “Considering the need to promote ‘ease of doing business’ in India and to make Indian business more competitive, and in response to th

The Labour Ministry has sought a fourfold increase in the threshold limit for tax deduction on provident fund withdrawals, from the existing ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh, in the coming Budget. This means that if the proposal gets a go-ahead, you may be able to withdraw provident fund savings of up to ₹2 lakh without any tax deduction even if you have not completed five years of continuous service. At present, provident fund withdrawals of more than ₹50,000 before completing five years in service attracts income tax of up to 34.608%. “No tax is required to be deducted on provident fund withdrawal of less than ₹50,000. However, even this limit appears to be too low and may be enhanced to ₹2 lakh keeping in view the deliberations in the meetings of the Central Board of Trustees,” the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) wrote in a recent letter to the Labour Ministry, which has since been forwarded to the Finance Ministry for inclusion in the Union Budget for 2017-18. The Centre h

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 ("MB Bill") was passed in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on 11 August 2016 :   Subject to the approval by the Lok Sabha (Lower House) and assent of the President of India, the MB Bill is set to become law on a date to be notified in the Official Gazette. The main provisions appear below. Action     required :     None     immediately. Monitor progress of the MB Bill and review current policies and procedures in the light of the expected new rules . Increased Paid Maternity Leave :  The MB Bill will increase maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks. In addition, the start date for maternity leave is proposed to increase to 8 weeks before the expected date of delivery and 18 weeks after childbirth. For woman who have 2 or more children, the duration of maternity leave shall continue to be 12 weeks (i.e. 6 weeks pre and 6 weeks post the date of delivery). Action     required : None immediately. Monitor progress of the MB Bill and

Union Labour Secretary asks employers to make use of the ongoing amnesty scheme for EPF, ESIC Employers should use the ongoing amnesty scheme for EPF and ESIC to ensure all their workers are registered under the social security net, urged M Sathiyavathy , Secretary, Union Labour Ministry. She said this is an opportunity for the employers to regularize their workforce without any concern about previous dues. The scheme is open till March 31. The registration will bring in benefits, such as assured minimum wages and coverage under social security net for healthcare and retirement benefits, she said at the Regional Conference of State Labour Ministers and Secretaries here on Wednesday. The benefits are beginning to show with over 1,400 establishments being registered afresh and over 1 lakh new employees registered under the social security net in the Southern region alone, following the amnesty scheme. Minimum wages have been enhanced, the Model Shops and Establishments Act is pr

The Kerala High Court today stayed an order of the Labour Commissioner, Thiruvananthapuram, directing that wages of estate workers be paid through bank accounts. Considering a petition filed by Devikulam Estate Workers' Union (AITUC) leader M V Ouseph, Justice A Muhammed Mustaq directed that payment of wages be continued as was being done post demonetization. Ouseph had submitted that the state  government  had issued a  Government  Order on November 17 as per which estate owners were to hand over the requisite cheque for payment of wages to workers to the district collector.  They in turn would encash the cheque through the district treasury and return the  cash  to estate owners for payment of wages to the workers.  Citing the G.O., Ouseph said the Labour Commissioner's circular directing the Chief Inspector of Plantations to ensure that all employees have  bank  accounts for disbursement of salaries for December 2016 is "arbitrary and illegal". The petiti

Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Bandaru Dattatreya has said that the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 will be amended to make minimum wages statutory and binding. Talking to media persons in Chennai on the sidelines of the Southern Regional Conference of State Labour Ministers and senior officials, he said minimum wages for unskilled, semiskilled and skilled labour   currently remain only advisory in nature. The Payment of Bonus Amendment Act 2015 has been passed by the Parliament, providing for better coverage of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance Corporation(ESIC) facilities, though its implementation is delayed as employers went to the courts.He said he hopes for an early resolution to it. The minister said, nationwide, select ESI hospitals will be upgraded into 100-bedded and 30-bedded hospitals in the next two years to give tertiary care to subscribing workers. He informed that establishments have been mandated to credit wages directly into the Ba

The Unified Portal of EPFO was made operational on 23rd December, 2016. A number of references are being received from the employers highlighting the problems on the portal in upfront allotment of UAN, connectivity issues, login issues, website slowdown/hanging, awareness of new procedures etc. IS division is making efforts to remove the difficulties and stabilize the unified portal. In view of the above, EPFO has decided that, as a special case concession of grace period of 5 days is allowed for the employers to deposit the contribution and other dues for the month of December, 2016 by 20th January, 2017.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has made it mandatory for its about 50 lakh pensioners and around 4 crore subscribers to provide either Aadhaar or a proof that they have applied for it till 31st Jan 2017  to remain the beneficiary of its social security schemes.   Gazette Notification No.S.O.26(E) dated 01-04-2017  find below 

Retirement fund body EPFO today decided to lower the interest on EPF deposits for the current fiscal to 8.65 per cent, from 8.8 provided in 2015-16, for its over four crore subscribers.  "The Employees Provident Fund Organisation's apex decision making body, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), has taken a decision to lower the interest rate to 8.65 per cent for the current fiscal from 8.8 in 2015-16," Indian National Trade Union Congress Vice-President Ashok Singh told PTI after  the meeting at Bengaluru. Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay also said that 8.65 per cent rate of interest is fixed on EPF deposits for 2016-17.  As per the EPFO income projections, retaining 8.8 per cent rate of interest for the current fiscal would have left a deficit of Rs 383 crore.  However, the body could have utilised about Rs 409 crore surplus with it, which accrued after providing 8.8 per cent rate of interest for 2015-16, to retain the same

Employees Provident Fund Organisation has introduced a new Notification, in which special drive will be initiated   from 1st January, 2017 by the EPFO for coverage of the Establishment which are not yet covered but which are liable for EPF coverage. The Establishment which is legally liable for coverage will be covered under the Employees Provident Fund Act. According to the notification, following benefits will be provided to the defaulters: Only Employer Share will be levied, No Employees Share. Interest as applicable on Employer’s Share. Damages @ Rs.1/- Per Annum. The above will be with a condition that, the Establishment is not legally liable before 01.04.2009. (Notification is Attached) New Scheme for PF Defaulters Frequently Asked Questions 1.  What is Employees’ Enrollment Campaign, 2017? This is a Campaign to provide opportunity to the employers to voluntarily come forward and declare details of all such employees who were entitled for PF membership between