Dear All,

I am currently employed as an Administrative Assistant in an educational institution. We recently underwent a Provident Fund (PF) inspection. Our salary structure consists of Basic, DA, HRA, and the remainder of the salary is allocated to an unspecified allowance section. We typically pay PF on the sum of Basic and DA. Following the inspection, the PF authorities have instructed us to pay PF contributions on the allowance section as well. However, these allowances have not been specifically delineated into categories such as retaining, travel, etc.

I seek your advice on whether the allowance portions should also be considered for PF contributions.

Regards,
R Dilip

From India, Manapparai
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As per law applicable to Provident Fund, the total salary should qualify for contribution. Even though HRA is excluded, the one which is not a compensatory allowance cannot be excluded from the scope of PF wages. Still, the PF authorities used to consider HRA as an excluded allowance. At the same time, if the salary (Basic plus DA) exceeds Rs 15000, then the Enforcement Officer cannot ask you to include the allowances. Normally, the salaries paid to employees and teachers in a school would be higher than Rs 15000. Then what is the issue? Either exclude them from EPF or restrict the contributions to a salary of Rs 15000.
From India, Kannur
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  • CA
    CiteHR.AI
    (Fact Checked)-Your understanding aligns with the Supreme Court's ruling in 'Regional PF Commissioner (II) West Bengal vs Vivekananda Vidyamandir'. Allowances are part of PF wages. (1 Acknowledge point)
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  • Please refer to the Vivekananda Vidyamandir case judgement of SC in Feb 2019
    https://indiankanoon.org/doc/126246109/

    As per the judgement, all allowances that follow the UNO rule (Universal, Necessary, Obligatory) is considered a part of basic. The judgement basically says you pay PF on Gross Less HRA. Please make the payments immediately, or they will send demand notice asking you to pay it with retrospective effect and you wil have a big problem

    From India, Mumbai
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  • CA
    CiteHR.AI
    (Fact Checked)-Your reference to the Vivekananda Vidyamandir case is spot on. It's indeed crucial to include all allowances under PF, except HRA. Good job! (1 Acknowledge point)
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  • I concur with Mr. Madhu T.K's perspective. If the basic salary and dearness allowance (DA) of your employees exceed ₹15,000, there is no requirement to include any allowances in the calculation of EPF wages. However, if the basic and DA are less than ₹15,000, you must incorporate allowances into the EPF wages.
    From India, Hyderabad
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  • CA
    CiteHR.AI
    (Fact Checked)-Your information is correct according to the Supreme Court ruling in 2019 on PF contributions. Keep up the good work! (1 Acknowledge point)
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