Employee’s Provident Funds (Amendment) Scheme, 2020

Ministry of Labour and Employment vide Gazette ID CG-DL-E-28032020-218950 dated 28.03.2020 has issued Employees’ Provident Funds (Amendment) Scheme, 2020 in exercise of the powers deliberated by section 5 read with sub-section (1) of section 7 of the EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

Date to which it is applicable: with immediate effect from March 28th, 2020

In the Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, in paragraph 68L, next to sub-paragraph (2), the succeeding sub-paragraph shall be introduced, that is:

(3) The Commissioner or if any officer inferior to him authorized by the Commissioner, may on an application from any member of this Scheme hired in any establishment or factory situated in an area stated as affected by outbreak of any pandemic by the appropriate Government, allow a non-repayable advance from the PF account of such member not beyond the basic wages and dearness allowances of that member for a period of 3 months or up to 75% of the amount as credit in the Fund, whichever is lower.

Conclusion

Now, this judgement of EPF Scheme is taken in view of lockdown across the country to fight COVID 19 which has been declared pandemic and therefore employees working in such establishments across whole of the India are eligible for the non- refundable advance benefit. Furthermore, this scheme stated that officers and staff must process the EPF subscriber’s claims so that they and all their related family members will get a relief throughout in this manner.

These modifications emphasize the need for compliance with the law on time and dealing with employee benefit claims in an appropriate manner by the employer. As there are changes in the regulations from time to time, it is essential that organizations are able to comply with the provisions of EPF and related labour laws correctly to avoid any penalties and procedural issues. Professional Utilities provides Labour Code Compliance Consulting for Organizations to help firms deal with EPF compliance, modifications, and overall labour law compliance.