Is There a Specific Form for Employees Declaring No PF Contribution? Need Guidance!

Our organization allows employees to choose whether they would like to make a PF contribution or not. In cases where an employee does not wish to opt for PF, we require a declaration. Can anyone guide me on whether there is a specific PF form for making such a declaration? Need assistance.

Regards,
Ruchi

Thank you for your reply. I understand, but as per the PF Act, if the employee's salary is above 6500, then the company has the option not to deduct PF for those employees. Please correct me if I am wrong.

P.S: Also, we have fewer than 5 employees drawing a basic of less than 6500.

An employee whose wages, salary, or pay exceeds Rs. 6500/- per month will be considered an excluded employee and is not covered by the Act. If so, why is a declaration needed at all? In fact, it is the opposite. An employee who is not eligible for P.F. contribution under the Act can, in fact, opt for contribution by making an application for the same.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Let me correct it as an employee whose salary (basic + DA) "at the time of his joining" exceeds Rs 6500 shall be an excluded employee. However, if before joining your establishment, he had PF with the previous company and the said account remains unclaimed or if he is not a PF pensioner (please read it as PF pensioner only), he is to be covered even if his salary exceeds Rs 6500.

Exclusion Criteria for New Employees

In order for a new employee whose salary at the time of joining exceeds Rs 6500 to be excluded, the employer should collect Form 11. This form is a declaration by the employee that he has not been a member of PF, has withdrawn his PF accumulations, or is a PF Pensioner.

Please note that for PF, there is no age limit, and even a person who is receiving a government pension is covered. Only a PF Pensioner is excluded.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

As Madhu stated, the point is correct, and it is the general practice followed in corporates. However, keeping track of all employees can be a difficult task. If an employee joins with a salary of Rs 6500 and above, then he can be excluded, provided that he is not a PF member at any time during his career. If he is a member, then all his PF accounts should be closed.

Regards,
Pandey

Yes, you are right. If any employee's basic salary is beyond 6500, they can take exemption from PF deduction with a duly written declaration.

Regards

If the employee receives a basic salary above ₹6,500 per month, it means there is an exemption from paying PF contributions by both sides. If the company has a policy not to pay, they can choose not to. Similarly, if the employee is not willing to pay the contribution, they also have the option not to. However, the employee should not have worked elsewhere and paid PF earlier. In such cases, the management should obtain a consent letter from the employee as well as Form 11.

Regards,
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
HR & Legal Consultant Pvt Ltd

Query on PF Contribution for Employees Earning Less Than Rs. 6,500

I have a query regarding employees who joined us earning less than Rs. 6,500 but are now making more than that. Another issue is if an employee earns less than Rs. 6,500 and is not interested in PF contribution, can we, as a company, take a written application from the employee stating their lack of interest and relieving the employer of responsibility for any mishaps?

Kindly suggest as both of these cases are occurring in my firm.

Regards,
Kanchi

Dear Ruchi,

Greetings for the day.

First of all, it might be known to all that the ceiling of Rs. 6500 has been increased by Rs. 15,000. The components should be Basic + DA + food conc. (if any). If an employee is earning more than Rs. 15,000 in the above-mentioned components, they are willing to opt for no contribution to EPF, but if it is less, they must opt for it. To declare not to deduct EPF, one has to fill out Form 11, which should be kept by the employer.

Thanks & regards,

Sumit Kumar Saxena

PF Salary Ceiling and Employee Exemption

This post was started some five years back when the PF salary ceiling was Rs. 6,500, and it is not due to ignorance that the salary has been put as Rs. 6,500.

I would like to reiterate that, in order to be excluded from PF coverage, the employee's salary (PF qualifying salary) at the time of joining should be more than Rs. 15,000. At the same time, he should not be an existing member of PF. An existing member is one who has not withdrawn his PF accumulations when he left his previous company. Therefore, when a person who has worked in some other organization to which PF applied joins your establishment, you have to check whether he was previously covered by PF and if he has not withdrawn it. This is known by means of a declaration (please see the attachment, and the attachment given by Sumit Saxena is an old one). It is okay if he gives a false declaration that he was not a member of PF or declares that he has withdrawn his PF accumulations, etc., and on the basis of that declaration, you exempt the employee from PF in your establishment.

Regards, Madhu.T.K

Is any form available for NON-DEDUCTION DECLARATION for PF by an employee.

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This is the corrected version of the text provided by the user. I have corrected the spelling and grammar errors while maintaining the original meaning and tone.

It is true that he was a member of PF when he was with you. However, since he has withdrawn his PF accumulations, he is not an existing member, and as such, he can be excluded as his salary at the time of joining or rejoining your company is more than Rs 15,000. There is no illegality in it.

Madhu.T.K

Thank you very much for your reply! A little clarification is needed. In Form 11, it asks for earlier EPF membership details, which need to be filled since he was a member of EPF earlier. This will lead to the linking of his UAN, and the employer will have to enroll him for EPF membership. How should I go about filling out Form 11, considering he was our employee previously when he was covered? We will not be able to accept false declarations.

Kindly suggest how I should proceed in his case, or if there is any clarification or notification regarding the same that I can present to my management.

Thanks,
Abhishek

Whether earlier covered does not apply to one who has already withdrawn the PF accumulations but it applies only to an "existing member" or one who has a PF Account Number. At the same time, once he has withdrawn the PF, that number does not exist, and he will not remain as a PF member. Therefore, you can say "No" to it.

Madhu.T.K

Hi,

With reference to the above work, is there any prescribed declaration format for not deducting PF from salary?

Hi Madhu,

I need to know if an employee earning a basic salary of Rs. 15,000/- can opt for no PF deductions. If yes, is there any declaration that needs to be submitted to the employer? Please advise as it is very urgent.

PF Membership and Opt-Out Conditions

An existing employee (an employee who is presently a PF member or a new employee who was a member of PF with their earlier organization and has not withdrawn the PF upon leaving that organization) cannot opt out of PF. In the case of a new employee who was not a member of PF earlier, they can be excluded from PF if their PF qualifying salary exceeds Rs 15,000. You can take a Form 11 declaration from the employee and keep it in your file.

Changes in PF Forms

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation is experimenting with framing forms, so you can expect changes in the forms every week. A form created today may disappear tomorrow. It is surprising that the people in the PF office are distributing the old forms (Form 19 and 10C, which have been replaced by Aadhaar-linked single forms) and they do not know about the new forms available on their website! In the case of Form 11, the latest form is the one issued in September 2017, hopefully. Please find the attachment.

Is there any form that we can have employees sign if they wish to opt-out of PF deductions?

If yes, could you please provide assistance with the format.

Exemption from PF Contribution

There is no such form by which you can exempt your employees from contributing to PF. Yes, if the salary (PF contributing salary) of a new employee is more than Rs 15,000 (as of now), you can exclude him. Certain provisions of law are mandatory provisions, and being an employer, you are not expected to deviate from them. PF is a good investment, and this will be the only savings available to your workers when they retire. Therefore, if you really want to make your employees happy, you should encourage these kinds of investments. Don't take it as a cost alone.

Which is the salary on which you deduct PF of other employees? The same should be the PF qualifying salary for deciding exclusion as well. If you contribute PF on gross salary less only HRA, then consider that. However, if you contribute PF only on Basic salary, then take the basic salary into account for deciding whether an employee can be excluded or not.

Hi,

If anyone has a salary below 15K and is eligible for PF contribution but doesn't want to pay any amount of PF from their salary because they are the single source of income, then which form can be used to fill by them? Guide me.

Regards,
Vikas

If he wants employment, he should contribute to PF. There is no way that an employee whose salary is below 15000 can be excluded from PF.