EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) and it's History

EPFO - Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation

The Employee provident fund came into force with the propagation of the Employees’ Provident Funds Ordinance on the 15th November 1951. This act was replaced by the Employees’ Provident Funds Act 1952. At present, it is known as the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952, that is applicable to all over India except the states of Jammu & Kashmir.

EPFO is considered as the world’s largest social security organization in respect of volumes of transactions undertaken and clientele. It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Labour and Employment which is managed by the government of India. Currently, it is maintaining 17.14 crores accounts of its members. (As per Annual Report 2015-16). All the schemes under this act are administered by the Central Board of Trustees(CBT). In general, CBT administers a contributory provident fund, a pension scheme and an insurance scheme for the workforce engaged in the organized sector in the country.

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Applicability of the EPF

Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) is a benefit scheme that is available to all salaried employees whether government employees or private sector employees. The EPF is maintained by the Employees Provident Fund Organization of India . Further, every company with more than 20 employees is required to get registered with the. Also, all your EPFO details are available on the official website of EPFO and you are allotted a Universal Account Number (UAN) to access your account and details.

In short, it is applicable to-

• Foundations which are factory engaged in any industry specified in schedule 1 and where 20 and more employees are working.
• Other Foundations where 20 or more persons are employed as notified by the central government.
• Organizations, where less than 20 persons are working, can be voluntarily covered under section 1(4).

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Structure of EPFO 

 EPFO act is administered by the Central Board of Trustees.if we look at the structure, it consists of the Central Board and Executive Committee which consist of the following-

Central Board

It is administered by the central board of trustees(CBT)under the Central government. Under this board following members are included-

• A Chairman
• A Vice Chairman
• 5 Central Government Representatives
• 15 State Government Representatives,
• 10 persons- Representing the Employees’
• 10 persons- Representing the Employers’

Executive Committee

It is comprised by Central Government through the notification in the Official Gazette. Members of the executive committee are selected from the members of the Central Board, that includes-

• A Chairman
• Central PF Commissioner
• 2 Central Government official Representatives
• 3 State Government official Representatives
• 3 Employers’ Representatives
• And 3 Employees’ Representatives

Regulative structure of the EPFO is divided into zones, headed by an Additional Central Provident Fund Commissioner. Currently, there are 10 zones in number and further, each state is represented by the regional offices headed by Regional Provident Fund Commissioners (RPFC) (Grade I). Regions are also sub-divided into sub-regions headed by Regional Provident Fund Commissioners (Grade II). Assistant Provident Fund Commissioners are also appointed to assist them and to ensure whether act and schemes are prevailing properly.

In fact, many of the districts in the country have district offices which are headed by an assistant provident fund commissioner to ensure the applicability of the act.