New Delhi, July 12: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced a six-month Amnesty Scheme, 2026, offering a one-time opportunity for establishments operating exempted Provident Fund (PF) Trusts to regularise their status and obtain retrospective exemption under the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
The scheme, announced by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, aims to provide relief to establishments whose PF trusts are recognised under the Income Tax Act but do not possess formal exemption notifications from the appropriate government.
According to the EPFO, the scheme follows amendments introduced through the Finance Act, 2026, which aligned the Income Tax framework governing recognised provident funds with the statutory provisions of the EPF Act and the Code on Social Security, 2020.
Under the revised framework, recognition under the Income Tax Act will now be available only to provident funds that have obtained exemption under Section 17 of the EPF Act.
The Amnesty Scheme, notified on June 29, 2026, will remain open for six months.
Two Categories of Eligible Establishments
The scheme applies to establishments that have been operating recognised PF trusts without formal exemption notifications.
EPFO said the scheme covers two categories of establishments.
The first category includes establishments seeking retrospective regularisation of their trusts while either already complying as un-exempted establishments or opting for prospective compliance under the un-exempted category.
The second category covers establishments seeking retrospective regularisation while continuing to function as exempted establishments under the Code on Social Security, 2020.
Major Relief Measures
One of the key features of the scheme is the grant of retrospective exemption status and trust recognition from the inception of the trust up to a designated cut-off date.
The scheme also waives several requirements under the Code on Social Security, including minimum employee headcount, corpus size requirements and the mandatory three-year prior compliance condition.
EPFO further announced that pending legal proceedings relating to dues, damages and interest would stand withdrawn and abated, provided employee accounts have received contributions and interest at rates equal to or better than statutory rates.
Past finalised orders in such cases will also be treated as void ab initio.
Application Process
Eligible establishments have been advised to submit formal applications to the Central Government through the concerned EPFO Regional Offices.
EPFO said that establishments may also submit expressions of interest through email at [email protected].
As part of the process, financial accounts of applicant establishments must be audited by a Chartered Accountant. Any special or compliance audits directed by EPF authorities must be completed within three months of the application.
Guidance from Regional Offices
The EPFO said detailed procedures, circulars and standard operating procedures relating to the scheme are available on its official website and in the Gazette notification issued on June 29, 2026.
The organisation added that jurisdictional Regional Offices will provide necessary guidance and facilitate the processing of applications under the Amnesty Scheme.
The move is expected to provide significant relief to several establishments by resolving long-pending compliance issues and bringing provident fund trusts under a uniform regulatory framework.
Purchase Quality Telegram Databases https://datadigi.pages.dev