Is It Fair to Reduce Employee EPF Contributions While Keeping Gross Salary Unchanged?

Clarification on EPF Deduction Changes

For example, my gross salary is Rs. 21,000. My basic salary is Rs. 12,600. My EPF deduction (employee share) is Rs. 1,512 per month, and my employer's share is Rs. 1,715. However, our company wants to change the system. We plan to deduct Rs. 780 (taking the basic as Rs. 6,500). The employer's share will be Rs. 885. The gross salary remains unchanged. This change is acceptable to the EPF office. Please clarify.

Regards

As per statutory compliance, EPF deduction from the employee's side is 12% of basic (not more than 6500), and from the employer's side, it is 13.61%. Out of the employer's contribution, 12% is for EPF and EPS, and the remaining 1.61% is for GPF and administrative charges of PF, EPS, and EDLI. I recommend following this rule.

Thank you.

I think it's not acceptable in the PF office. Once you have submitted any contributed amount to a particular account, you cannot reduce that amount. For example, if the current employee contribution is ₹1512 and you now want to deposit an employee share of ₹780, this is not acceptable.

Shall we start this kind of deduction for new employees? Is it acceptable? Please clarify my doubt.

Regards,
R.N. Rajan.

I agree with the opinion given by Mr. Indrajeet here. PF contributions, once started depositing in a particular PF account, cannot be reduced.

Regards,
Devinder

I agree with Mr. Indrajeeth's statement. Once you fix the PF contribution amount, it will not reduce. If any new joiners come on board, you can apply the ceiling rule of ₹6,500.

Regards,
Shivananda VD

Once you start deducting the amount for a particular employee in PF, you cannot reduce it. However, you can apply this deduction for new joiners by considering the basic salary as Rs. 6500/- and deducting Rs. 780/- as PF, even if their basic salary is above Rs. 6500/-.

Thanks,
Hetal

"Sure, here is the corrected version of the user's input with proper spelling, grammar, and paragraph formatting:

Clarification on PF Contribution Reduction

Yeah, why not? But for the reduction of old employees' PF, you should visit the EPFO website or ask EPFO. As far as I know, if we require permission for a higher PF contribution, then for a lesser contribution, even till 780, we can.

Please let me know if you need further assistance."

There are two different issues. One pertains to the Provident Fund. The other pertains to the change of conditions of employment.

Issue 1:
It is legally possible to reduce PF contribution by getting letters of acceptance from employees. As long as the members agree to the changed terms, PF Authorities will not raise any objection. I am actually implementing this for an organization now.

Issue 2:
Changing terms and conditions unilaterally is not possible. Workmen are covered under the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947. Management needs to give Notice for Change. After arriving at an agreement, the Management can change the deduction pattern. With other employees, even though there is no legislation like the Industrial Disputes Act, the Indian Contract Act will be applicable. Hence, any change in terms must be specified, and the Management must get a signature from the employees agreeing to the changed terms.

Dear Rajan, I've gone through all the advice above and do not agree with any of the advice other than what Sivasankaran has suggested; however, even with that, I only partially agree.

Possibility of Changing PF Contribution

It is very much possible to change the PF contribution, as I have done so for many of my clients, and the PF department has always agreed with us.

Contributing to PF more than the statutory limit is at the option of the employer because it is an additional cost for the company, and the company has the option to bear it or not. It is not an obligation for the employer to contribute more than what is legally required. At present, it is Rs. 780 + EDLI and Admin charges on Rs. 6500/-

You simply need to get it approved in your board meeting by your Board of Directors. That's it, nothing else; and you can start deducting PF on Rs. 6500 with immediate effect.

Non-Discrimination Among Employees

One more important thing I want to mention is whether you can deduct PF on 6500 for new employees and keep the basic as it is for old employees. The answer is NO. You cannot have discrimination among the employees as it goes against the principles of natural justice, though it is not legally wrong.

Regards, Kapil

EPF Deduction on Basic Salary

If you deduct PF on ₹6,500 from the beginning, it is valid in case the Basic is higher than ₹6,500. However, if you have been deducting on a higher basic earlier or until now, and you wish to reduce it, it's not permissible by the Act. Please refer to the section where wages cannot be reduced.

Considerations for Reducing PF Contributions

It is not advisable to reduce PF contributions, as seen in the case of Rajan. However, one can do so by submitting an application to the EPF office through your employer.

You can start deductions on the ceiling limit of PF Wage, i.e., Basic+DA, at Rs. 6,500 for new employees, but you cannot make changes in the middle as per the EPF & Misc Act 1952.

Employer's Contribution to EPF

By reducing the employer's contribution to 12% of ₹6500 from that of higher wages, the employer is not reducing wages, which attracts Section 12 of the EPF Act. The employer can limit their contribution to ₹6500 only. Please see the Supreme Court decision in 2011 in the case of Marathwada Gramin Bank.

However, Section 9A of the ID Act shall be complied with.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew

Yes, it is possible, but it's only possible during the time between management and union wage agreement.

1) Accepted by both parties and signed by both.
2) Once the agreement is signed, there will be no increase in the wage amount. The previous amount will continue without any increment. For example, if the previous amount was Rs 900/- per month, the present amount will also remain at Rs 900/- without any increase. (This amount is above the PF norm of 6500/-).

I fully agree with Mr. Sankaran. Here, this is applicable to manufacturing industries. In the email posted by the advice seeker, it is not mentioned whether he is in the service sector industry or manufacturing. Also, if all employees agree to the change with the condition that CTC should not be impacted by reducing PF contribution on Rs. 6500/-, the employer ultimately reduces financial liabilities. In such a scenario, the employee can ask for an increase in salary in proportion to the difference of the amount reduced by the employer due to the decision of the deduction of PF on Rs. 6500/-. For example, if the Basic is Rs. 10,000/-, the employer's share of contribution will be Rs. 1200/-, instead, due to Rs. 6500/-, it will be Rs. 780/-, hence Rs. 420 must be added per month in some salary head.

Benefits

- Net take-home salary will be increased.

Disadvantage

- Retirement savings will be reduced, and tax deductions will be high.

Regards,
Vipul Rana

Out of the above postings, Mr. Kapil is absolutely right. Contribution beyond the ceiling limit is the option of the employer. Statutory obligation is only on actual salary up to the ceiling limit. Whether previously contributed beyond the ceiling limit or not is not a matter.

Case Study: Milk Marketing Federation Ltd

I know of one case regarding the Milk Marketing Federation Ltd under the Co-operative sector in Kerala. Earlier, they had contributed on actual salary beyond the ceiling. However, an audit objection was raised as the statutory obligation is only on the ceiling limit. Subsequently, they changed to restrict the contribution to the ceiling limit. They didn't find any practical difficulty in reducing the contribution.

Regards,
Abbas.P.S

I fully agree with Mr. Shankaran; however, you can implement the suggested changes for a new employee whose basic pay is more than ₹6500, and the employer contribution amount of ₹885 includes administrative charges, i.e., ₹780 + 1.61%.

Thanks.

Deepak M.

Dear All, there is a judgment pronounced recently by the Gujarat High Court that states: • Employer's share to EPF contribution can be reduced to Rs.6,500. Gujarat High Court, # 806. Complete details on the same are awaited, but I guess this will put an end to the ambiguity on whether EPF contributions can be reduced back to the statutory ceiling requirement of INR 6,500/- as provisioned in EPF, even though earlier contributions were higher than 6,500/-.

Best regards,
Vaibhava Mahamunkar

Dear colleagues, To recover more than Rs. 780 (basic of Rs. 6500 or so), there is a need for consent by the individual. Hence, any recovery over and above Rs. 780 should not occur. Any recovery exceeding Rs. 780 should be reduced. There is no chance to recover more.

Thank you.

Could anyone clarify why EPF is deducted on a salary exceeding ₹6,500 and not on ₹6,500 if the basic salary is higher? Please explain the rules of EPF deduction for the following scenarios:

1. Gross Salary: ₹1,25,000; Basic Salary: ₹50,000
2. Gross Salary: ₹15,200; Basic Salary: ₹8,000
3. Gross Salary: ₹12,000; Basic Salary: ₹6,500
4. Gross Salary: ₹10,000; Basic Salary: ₹3,500

Please advise on the EPF deduction for the above four conditions.

Regards,
Ali

You can change the deduction to Rs. 6500. For this, you have to inform the EPF department before making any adjustments, and you can modify the deduction structure accordingly. I hope this clarifies everything.

Thank you.

According to all replies, everyone is talking about Rs. 6500, which is the ceiling rate. You should understand it. As per EPFO rules, PF can be deducted up to Rs. 6500 basic, whether the basic might be more or less as per your pay structure. If you want to deduct on a higher basic, then you can do it if the employee and employer agree with the same, but the employer is not bound to contribute on more than Rs. 6500 basic. Now, you self-decide in all of the four cases given by you.

The basic salary of the employee depends on the minimum wages of the respective state. PF is calculated based on the basic salary. You can increase the basic salary but cannot reduce it.

Well, there are two perspectives here.

Legal Perspective

As far as my legal knowledge goes, the provisions of The Employee Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 are not violated by deducting the contribution on the maximum slab of Rs. 6,500. There is no provision in the Act which states that the contribution amount, if reduced, would amount to a violation of the Act.

Practical Compliance

From the compliance perspective, your case might come under the notice of the Regional Compliance Officer as the aggregate contribution would drastically come down in respect of existing employees as reflected in the ECR filed monthly. However, in order to safeguard your side, I recommend that you take a declaration from the concerned employees that they are willing to reduce the statutory contribution of both the employer and themselves to the maximum slab of Rs. 6,500. The savings thereof can be added to the cash-out salary without affecting the Gross Salary.

Thus, it is within your rights to reduce the contribution to Rs. 6,500 for existing employees.

Your management has made the correct decision. As per the PF rules, we need to calculate PF on the basic salary, with a maximum of Rs. 6500 and a maximum contribution of Rs. 780. If we calculate the basic salary based on the actual salary and the contribution exceeds Rs. 780, the management is willing to pay the employer's contribution exceeding Rs. 780. Otherwise, you can consider a maximum of Rs. 780.

Regards,
Venkat.V
HR-Incharge AP

The maximum limit for the basic salary is $6,500. If you show more than $6,500, it's your choice. However, the PF department will have no issue with a new employee receiving even the minimum PF based on the gross salary.

I have seen many postings on gross salary for EPF recovery. It is seen that many members still have doubts about it. Suppose the wages of an employee are Rs 10,000/- per month. There are three ways of contribution practiced in companies. They are:

1) Both employer and employee contribute at 12% of Rs 6,500/-. This is the maximum statutory liability of the employer and employee. The employer has to pay administrative charges on Rs 6,500/- only.

2) The employee contributes 12% of Rs 10,000/-, but the employer contributes 12% of Rs 6,500/- only.

3) Both employer and employee contribute 12% of Rs 10,000/-.

In case 2) and 3), the employer has to pay administrative charges on Rs 10,000/-.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Employer's Right to Withdraw Additional PF Contribution

The employer is within its right to withdraw the facility of payment of additional PF contribution and can restrict its contribution to the extent of statutory payments only at any time without the consent of the concerned employees. There is a judgment of the High Court to that effect.

The said change does not require any prior notice or consent as per the provisions of Section 9A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

Also, payment of PF on gross salary/wages does not amount to terms and conditions.

I want to say exactly what Mr. Darshan mentioned. As per the PF Act, it is completely okay, but on the safer side, written consent needs to be obtained from employees. Also, we all know that nowadays, salary is based on the CTC Concept. By implementing new changes, i.e., PF deduction on the ceiling of Rs. 6,500/-, the employer has to pay less contribution, which was earlier paid on Actual Basic. In such a scenario, CTC will be reduced compared to the earlier CTC of Employees.

In such circumstances, the employer also needs to be fair enough by adjusting the difference in the amount so that the final CTC amount of employees will not be impacted.

Regards,
Vipul Rana

Compliance with the ID Act and Section 9A

A change in contribution to PF attracts items 2 & 8 of Schedule IV of the ID Act; hence, to be on the safer side, it is better to comply with Section 9A.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew

PF Statement Deviation Inquiry

Please refer to the attached PF statement of an employee working as SG in my organization. There is a deviation (+/-) in the monthly contribution by both the employee and the employer. The basic salary of the employee remains the same throughout this period (Rs. 4174/-).

Thanks & Regards,
Manish Shrimali
Ranchi, Jharkhand

Yeah, it is rightly said that once you start deducting PF on the entire amount for a particular employee, you cannot reduce the PF contribution. However, you can start implementing this process for new joiners. You can consider a basic salary of Rs. 6500/- and deduct Rs. 780/- as PF, even if their basic salary is above Rs. 6500/-.

It is not true that deductions can be reduced by circulating a notice among employees, employers, and the PF Office. The key point is that employees should agree to the same.

"Employer reserved this right" means the employer will only deduct Rs. 780 (Basic - 6500) from every employee's pay. The employee will not be required to pay any additional amount. The employer will cover the remaining expenses.

Regards,
Bhanu

I agree with Kapil, except that in the case of new employees whose salary is more than Rs 6500/-, EPF is optional.

According to Section 12 of the EPF Act, an employer cannot do so. However, if the employer is currently deducting PF higher than the prescribed limit of Rs. 6500/- and depositing the same to the PF Office, the employer can reduce and limit it to Rs. 6500/-.

Changing the Criteria

Changing this criterion is not easy at all. You have to go through a series of procedures for that. Kindly go through Mr. Tsivasankara's answer. Kindly go through the attached file.

Regards

Hi Friends,

We have already submitted the contribution of PF for the month of March. However, in February, one employee joined for 9 days, received salary, and then left. We did not register him for PF, nor did we make any contributions for him since he left. Despite this, his PF and ESI were deducted on the salary sheet.

Is it possible for me to submit his PF and ESI for the month of February now? Is there any solution to this issue? This is urgent. Please help.

This discussion before 1.9.14 was OK. The EPF limit was increased to Rs 15,000/- per month from Rs 6,500 with effect from 1.9.14.