Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a scheme under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. It is regulated under the purview of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) which is one of the world’s largest social security organizations in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken. Basically, EPF is like a benefit to an employee during the retirement provided by the organisation (EPFO).

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Why is It Important for an Employer to Register for EPF?

Since TDS is deducted from employees’ salaries, EPF registration is a critical process for employers. Furthermore, they would be required to process remittances only after employers generated challans through the EPFO employer portal. As a result, they must go through this procedure.

Risk coverage: The Provident Fund’s most fundamental benefit is to cover the risks that employees and their dependents may face as a result of retirement, illness, or death.

Uniform account: One of the most important aspects of the Provident Fund account is that it is consistent and transferable. It is transferable to any other place of employment.

Employee Pension Scheme (EPS): EPS is available to all PF account holders. According to it, a pension amount is deducted at the rate of 8.33% of up to Rs.15,000 from the employer's contribution, which is paid as a monthly pension to an employee after 58 years of age.

Long-term goals: Many long-term goals, such as marriage or higher education, necessitate the immediate availability of funds. During such times, the accumulated PF amount is frequently useful.

Emergency needs: Certain unanticipated events, such as marriage or other family gatherings, as well as any mishap or illness, necessitate immediate financial assistance. The PF amount can be extremely beneficial.

Applicability of EPF Registration for Employers

EPF registration is mandatory for all establishments-

• Which is a factory engaged in any industry having 20 or more persons.
• To any other establishment employing 20 or more persons or class of such establishments which the Central Government may, by notification specify on this behalf.

The employer must obtain the EPF registration within one month of attaining the strength, failing which penalties will be applicable. A registered establishment continues to be under the purview of the Act even if the employee strength falls below the required minimum.

Central Government may apply the provisions to any establishment employing less than 20 employees after giving not less than two months’ notice for compulsory registration. Where the employer and majority of employees have agreed that the provisions of this act should be made applicable to the establishment, they may themselves apply to the Central Provident Fund (PF) Commissioner.

The Central PF Commissioner may apply the provisions of this Act to that establishment after passing the notification in the Official Gazette from the date of such agreement or from any subsequent date specified in the agreement.

All the employees will be eligible for a PF from the commencement of their employment, and the responsibility of deduction and payment of PF lies with the employer. The EPF contribution of 12% is paid equally by the employer and employee. 

The employee's PF contribution is 12%, which is deducted from the employee's basic salary. The employer also contributes an amount equal to 12% of the basic salary of an employee. If the establishment has employed less than 20 employees, the PF deduction rate will be 10%. 

EPF Registration Procedure Online

The employer must register the establishment online. With the convenience of online registration the employer can register the establishment by providing the following details:

Establishment details

• The establishment details to be provided are the Name of the establishment, Address, Incorporation Date, PAN and Type of establishment.
• If the establishment is a factory then the details to be provided are the Factory License Number, Date of License and Place of issue of License.
• If the establishment is an MSME then MSME registration details to be provided.
• If the establishment is registered under Startup India, then the Startup India registration details are to be provided.

eContacts

The employer must provide the email ID and mobile number of the authorised person.

Contact Person

Employers must provide details of the contact person like a manager. The details required are name, date of birth, gender PAN, designation date of joining and address details.

Identifiers

The identifiers are the license information that the employer needs to provide.

Employment details 

The employment details required to be provided are the Employee strength, Gender, Wages above limit and Total wages.

Branch/Division

Branch details of the establishment, such as name/premise number, LIN (Labour Identification Number) and address.

Activities

The employer needs to enter the NIC Code (National Industrial Classification) and select the nature of business and the activities included from the drop down lists available.

Steps For EPF Registration for Employers

The employer needs to follow the below-mentioned steps:

Step 1: Visit the EPFO Website

Visit the website and click on the “Establishment Registration” button on the homepage.

Step 2: Register On USSP

The “Establishment Registration” button on the homepage of the EPFO website will open the USSP (Unified Shram Suvidha Portal) sign up page. The employer needs to click the “Sign Up” button.

On the next page, the employer has to provide the Name, Email, Mobile Number, and Verification Code and click the “Sign Up” button to create the account.

Step 3: Log in to the USSP

After the creation of the account on the USSP, the employer needs to log in to the USSP and select the “Registration For EPFO-ESIC” button present on the left-hand side of the screen. Next, select the “Apply for New Registration” button on the right side of the screen.

Two options will appear, i.e. “Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948” and “Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952”. The employer will need to select the “Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952” and click on the “Submit” button.

Step 4: Fill the Registration Form

Upon clicking the “Submit” button, the “Registration Form for EPFO” page will open, and the employer needs to fill all sections of the form.

Fill the “Establishment Details” section and click on the “Next” button

In the “eContacts” section, fill the details and click on the “Add” button. Once the details are added, click on the “Next” button.

In the “Contact Person” section, click on the “Add/Edit Address of Primary Manager” button to add the address.

Next, click on the “Add/Edit Econtact of Primary Manager” to add the email.

Click on the “Add” button, enter the details of the “Other Contact Person”, and click on the “Next” button.

Enter the required details in the “Identifiers” section and click on the “Add” button. Once the details are added, click on the “Next” button.

Enter the “Employee Details” section and click on the “Add” button to add the details, and go to the next section of the registration form.

Enter the details in the “Branch/Division” section and click on the “Add” button. Once the details are added, click on the “Next” button.

In the “Activities” section, enter the NIC code, primary business activity, nature of work, and subcategory of nature of work and click on the “Next” button.

In the “Attachments” section, upload all the required document attachments by clicking on the “Upload” button and clicking on the “Save” button.

The summary of the registration form will be displayed. Check the details entered in the registration form and click on the “Submit” button.

Step 5: Attach DSC

Click on the “Digital Signature” button on the next page and attach the Digital Signature Certificate.

Once, the DSC of the employer is uploaded, the employer will receive a successful completion of registration form message.

The employer will also receive an email from the Unified Shram Suvidha Platform with a confirmation that the EPFO registration has been completed.

Documents Required For EPF Registration

The following documents need to be attached to the “Registration Form for EPFO” by the employer- 

• PAN Card of the Proprietor/Partner/Director.
• Proof of address such as the Electricity Bill or Water Bill or Telephone Bill of the Registered Office (not older than 2 months).
• Aadhaar Card of Proprietor/Partner/Director.
• Shop and Establishment Certificate/GST Certificate/ any License issued by the government for the establishment.
• Digital Signature of the Proprietor/Partner/Director.
• Cancelled Cheque or Bank Statement of Entity.
• Hired/Rented/Leased Agreement, if any.
• License Proof issued by the Identifier/Licensing Authority.

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