How Can We Offer PF Benefits from Day 1 When Our Employee Count Is Below 20?

We are planning to form a discretionary trust and deploy sizeable funds to carry out charitable activities. To carry out the activities, we propose to recruit employees. We also propose to give P.F. benefits to the employees, even if the number of employees is less than the required limit. This requires registration of the trust with the P.F. Commissioner. The authorities at the P.F. office say that they can register an establishment only after the employee strength reaches a minimum of 20. So many employees are not required for the proposed activities. This means employees will not get P.F. benefits or will have to wait until the strength reaches 20—which may not happen in the near future. In the above circumstances, how do we get registration and extend P.F. benefits from Day 1, even to the first employee?

For Registration under the EPF Act, you need to submit the following forms:

1. Proforma for coverage
2. Investigation proforma
3. Form for Allotment of Business Code
4. Form 5A in duplicate
5. Nomination forms in Form 2 for all eligible subscribers
6. Form 9 book (which is available with the Provident Fund office or you can get it from book suppliers)
7. First month remittance payment through pay order taken in favor of "The Regional Provident Fund Commissioner"

For Voluntary coverage, you need to have at least 10 employees for coverage. For this, you need to submit a consent letter (as per the prescribed format) from both the employee and employer.

Along with the above set of applications, you need to furnish the particulars of the company setup in your case (trust deed) and the employment particulars from the date of setup. You also need to provide any documentary proof from a government authority.

Regards,
Anand