One of the World’s largest Social Security Organisations, The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced that Employers defaulting on submitting the contributions are liable to pay Damages & Interest.
The Employees Provident Fund Organisation said that employers defaulting on contributions are liable to pay Damages u/s 14B and interest u/s 7Q on the due amount.
The employers should ensure timely payment of EPF dues to avoid damages and interest. In case of delay in payment by the employers will cause the following:-
- Damages are restricted up to 100% of the amount in arrears.
- Simple Interest @12% is payable on the amount due for the entire period of delay.
Damages are levied at the following interest rates:
- Period less than 2 months: 5% per Annum
- 2-4 months: 10% per Annum
- 4-6 months: 15% per Annum
- More than 6 months: 25% per Annum
EPFO has recently shared a tweet through an official Twitter handle saying, “Employers defaulting on contributions are liable to pay Damages & Interest on the amount due.”
Employers defaulting on contributions are liable to pay Damages & Interest on the amount due.#AmritMahotsav #epfo #PF pic.twitter.com/3DlGmHPaeC
— EPFO (@socialepfo) December 19, 2022
Recently, A high-level committee has proposed the increase the wage ceiling under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO).
The proposed increase to Rs 21,000 per month from the existing Rs 15,000. The government may increase the threshold on the salary of employees.
The last EPFO wage ceiling revision was made in 2014. The wage revision was hiked to Rs 15,000 monthly from Rs 6,500 per month. The scheme currently covers only those organizations that have over 20 workers.
The proposed increase of the salary limit to Rs 21,000 per month has been endorsed by a committee. The committee has said that the government may implement the increase at a later date after discussion and thinking about this in detail.
An expert committee will be formed shortly to revise the wage limit. The threshold is subject to revision of inflation and reviewed periodically for coverage under EPFO.
