Navigating PF Registration: Should Head and Branch Offices Enroll Separately?

Hi All, My company wants to enroll in the provident fund. I want to know if I need to enroll separately for our head office and branch office or if I should consider the total strength as the total of the head and branch office. Payroll processing and salary payouts are done separately in their respective offices. Kindly enlighten me on what we should do.

Thanks in Advance

You do not need to enroll with different PF offices. You can simply enroll with the PF commissioner in whose jurisdiction your head office falls for all the employees in both the head office and branch office.

First of all, I would like to inform you that if you are going to incorporate your company in a HO-Branch structure, then as per the Act, only your HO will be registered with the concerned EPFO Branch Office along with the "List of Branch Offices" and employees.

After that, if you register with ESIC, you will need to obtain the Main Coverage Code for your HO. Subsequently, using that Main Coverage Code, you will need to acquire the ESI sub-code for all the branches where you have coverable employees.

I hope this information proves helpful to you.

Regards

EPF compliance can be done at the head office or any branch office; it depends on the company policy. Whereas ESI compliance must be state-wise.

Regards,
Kashyap

Before you decide, answer these questions:

1. Whether separate or combined, for the purpose of PF applicability and registration, should a combined strength of the number of employees be taken? For example, in the Head Office, it's 5, and in the Branch, it's 15.

2. Are your employees in the Head Office and Branch Office interchangeable, or is there no possibility? This is desirable as your payrolls are run separately, and for the purpose of remittance, you may encounter some practical difficulties.

3. How are your labor licenses and registration of establishments obtained? Are they separate or combined?

4. Also, consider the impact of ESIC.

5. Are the Head Office and Branch Office located in different places and separated in two different states?

6. If your strength is greater than 100, you can have an exemption and establish your own PF Trust with due permission from EPFO.

Now, considering your separate payroll arrangements, it is convenient to have separate registration and remittances, returns, etc. This will enable you to process your PF remittances, ledgers, transfers, advances/withdrawals, settlements, etc., very conveniently as they are within your control and all details are available internally. On the other hand, if you combine with the Head Office, you will have to communicate with them.

However, both arrangements are acceptable and permissible; the decision is yours.

Regards, Kumar S.