PF Registration (EPF)

Once your establishment employs 20 or more persons. That threshold now comes from the First Schedule to the Code on Social Security, 2020, which applies Chapter III to every establishment in which twenty or more employees are employed. Smaller establishments can register voluntarily under section 1(5). We confirm your position and timing.

Yes, and this catches people out. The second proviso to section 2(26) of the Code provides that for the purposes of counting employees for coverage under Chapter III and Chapter IV, employees whose wages are more than the notified wage ceiling shall also be taken into account. A twenty-person company where everyone earns ₹80,000 is covered, even though none of them would individually be a contributing member.

Both. Paragraph 18(2) of the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 sets the employer's contribution at 12% of wages and the employee's at an equal amount, with a first proviso allowing 10% for classes of establishment notified by the Central Government. Paragraph 18(3) caps the contribution at the amount payable on the wage ceiling, which S.O. 2702(E) of 29 May 2026 fixed at ₹15,000 per month. Of the employer's 12%, 8.33% of wages up to the ceiling — ₹1,250 at ₹15,000 — goes to the Pension Fund under paragraph 4(1) of the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026, and the balance to the Provident Fund.

Not any more. The four Labour Codes commenced on 21 November 2025, and provident fund now sits in Chapter III of the Code on Social Security, 2020. The Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 (G.S.R. 525(E), 29 June 2026) was made in supersession of the 1952 Scheme, and the Pension and EDLI Schemes of 2026 replaced their 1995 and 1976 predecessors on the same day. The contribution percentages and the ₹15,000 ceiling did not change — the instrument, the damages formula and the return late fee did.

A Universal Account Number — a portable number for each employee that links their PF across employers. We set up UAN generation for your staff.

The Electronic Challan-cum-Return filed every month reporting wages and contributions. Paragraphs 20(1) and 28(3) of the EPF Scheme, 2026 require contributions and administrative charges to be paid within fifteen days of the close of every month, and paragraph 24(2) requires details of new and transferred members on the same timetable. The pension share and the EDLI contribution run to the same date.

Incorporation/constitution proof and PAN, address and bank proof, employee list with wages and dates of joining, DSC of the signatory, and the date you crossed the threshold.

Paragraph 23(1) of the EPF Scheme, 2026 charges damages per month on the arrears: 0.25% for a default of less than two months, 0.50% for more than two and less than four months, and 1% beyond four months — capped so that damages cannot exceed the arrears themselves. Separately, paragraph 29(2) imposes a late fee of ₹500 per day for a delayed return, capped at the administrative charges for the month concerned. The old 5%/10%/15%/25%-per-annum slabs belong to the pre-Code regime and should not be quoted.

A percentage of wages fixed by the Central Government in consultation with the Central Board — paragraphs 28(2) and 29(1) of the EPF Scheme, 2026 provide for the charge but the Scheme itself does not state the percentage. The same is true of the EDLI contribution rate, which paragraph 5(2) of the EDLI Scheme, 2026 leaves to notification. We confirm the currently notified figures for your establishment rather than publish a number we have not verified from a primary source; the widely repeated 0.50% and ₹500 minimum come from the pre-Code regime.

Not as a matter of obligation. Under the first proviso to section 2(26) and paragraph 2(1)(f) of the Scheme, an employee whose wages exceed the ceiling at the time they would otherwise become a member is an 'excluded employee'. Existing members stay members even if their wages later rise (paragraphs 9(1) and 10(1)). You can go further voluntarily: paragraph 9(4) allows the employee and employer to jointly opt in writing to contribute on wages above the ceiling, with the employer then paying administrative charges on those wages, and paragraph 19 allows an employee to contribute above the ceiling without the employer being obliged to match.

Yes. Section 1(5) of the Code allows the Central Provident Fund Commissioner, by notification, to apply Chapter III to an establishment where the employer and a majority of employees agree, with a proviso permitting an exit on the same basis. Many employers opt in early to offer PF as a benefit. We handle voluntary registration too.

No, and payroll software that assumes so will drift. Paragraph 18(5) of the EPF Scheme, 2026 rounds PF to the nearest rupee, with 50 paise or more rounding up. Rule 19(1) of the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 rounds each ESI contribution up to the next higher rupee. Two different rules, applied to the same payslip.