EPF Registration

OVERVIEW

EPF Registration

The government has introduced various schemes for the retirement benefits of the employees, one such scheme is Employee Provident Fund i.e., EPF. The EPF is more of a retirement benefit plan for the employees.

In EPF, the employer contributes 12% of the Basic Salary and the employee contributes the same 12% of the Basic Salary. This provident fund contribution is paid to the government through the monthly challans and the amount is deposited in the PF Passbook of an employee. The PF is deposited in monthly ECR i.e., Electronic Challan cum Return. Universal Account Number (UAN) is entered for depositing PF for every employee.

BENEFITS

Benefits of EPF Registration :

1. Employee gets a huge amount for retirement.
2. Employee can withdraw the PF for house purchase, a marriage of a daughter, COVID treatment, and other such urgencies.
3. Employees can voluntarily contribute more than 12% of the basic salary.
4. UAN applies to all the organizations so in case an employee changes a job then the old contribution’s passbook can be seen through a single UAN along with the current passbook.
5. Employer PF contribution has a share of pension also which helps the employee in getting pension after he retires.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Documents required EPF Registration

Following documents are required for EPF Registration :

PAN Card of the organization and employees.
Registration certificate of Factories Act or Shop and Establishment Act If any.
GST Certificate.
Incorporation certificate.
Memorandum of Association, Article of Association.
List of employees and their basic details, Aadhar card, family details, and bank account details for the creation of UAN.
UAN, if already registered through the previous job.
Canceled Cheque.
Salary of all the employees.
List of directors/partners.

process

Process of EPF Registration in India

The process of registration is as follows:

The first step is to register the organization on the EPFO’s website by clicking the Establishment Registration.
The next step is to sign up at the Unified Shram Suvidha Portal (USSP) by providing details like name, email id, and mobile number.
After registering, the applicant needs to login to the USSP and select the option for “Apply for New Registration”, then select Employees’ Provident Fund and Misc. Provisions Act, 1952 from the options.
After selecting the above option, an applicant needs to fill in Establishment details which include name, PAN, incorporation date, etc.
Add authorized person contact details.
Add details of all the employees and their UAN if any.
Add branch office if any.
Add the objects of the organization.
After filling the form and attaching all the relevant documents the form is submitted using the digital signature of the employer.
After verification of all the information, the registration certificate in form 5 is granted.

Time Required

The time required for the submission of the documents is 10-15 days.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Explore EPF Registration

1. When EPF Registration is required?

The employer is required to register under EPF Act in the following cases: • Factory having 20 or more employees.
• Establishment other than factory having 20 or more employees.
• Establishment having less than 20 employees but choose to apply voluntarily.
• Establishment having less than 20 employees but choose to apply through Central Government’s two months’ notice.

2. What is the validity period of EPF Registration and how much digits do EPF Registration number contain?

The Registration is valid throughout the life of the organization.EPFCode is 15-digit code.

3. What are the contribution rates for EPF?

The following are the contribution rates: • Employer contributes 12% of the basic salary.
• Employee contributes 12% of the basic salary.
Employer contribution is divided into the following components: • Pension Contributionis 8.33% of the basic salary.
• PF Contribution is3.67% of the basic salary.

4. What is the interest rate on the EPF?

The interest rate for FY 2020-21 is 8.5% which employee gets on the accumulated balance in PF Passbook.

5. Which are the employees excluded from EPF?

The following employees are excluded from EPF: • Retired Employee.
• Interns.
• Permanently Migrating Abroad.

6. What are the responsibilities after EPF registration?

The employer is responsible for the following: • Monthly ECR filing.
• Updating the KYC of the employees.
• Approving the request for changes in any particulars of employees.
• Approving the request for transfer of PF amount from old employer.

7. Whether employee can have multiple UAN?

No, the employee must have only one UAN otherwise he needs to migrate the UAN.

8. What is the taxability of PF amount withdrawn?

The PF works on exempt model, i.e., contribution is exempt u/s 80C of the Income Tax Act, Interest earned on employee’s contribution up toRs. 2.5 Lakhs is exempt, interest earned on employer contribution is exempt without any limit and amount withdrawn is also exempt.

9. Within what period employer needs to apply for EPF Registration?

The employer must apply for registration of EPF within 30 days of its applicability to the organisation.

10. What is the due date for depositing the EPF monthly challan?

The EPF is deposited monthly. The due date for depositing the EPF challan is 15 days from the end of the month to which the contribution relates. Late depositing of EPF challans attract interest rate of 12% p.a. each day of default and disallowance of EPF contribution while computing income tax.