PF Compliance for Contract Employees
PF is mandatory whether for Contract, Temporary, or Casual employees. Ask your contractor to get the PF code number from EPFO and also ask them to submit their monthly compliance properly. This is the prime responsibility of the PE to verify the PF records submitted by the contractor, like ECR, CRN, etc., through the EPFO website before processing the contractor's invoice.
Important Note
As per my experience, before allocating the work to the contractor, PE has to check whether the contractor has an existing PF code with EPFO or not. If the contractor has not complied with PF requirements, PE may withhold some amount due to non-payment of PF. After the contractor pays the PF amount to EPFO, the same amount may be refunded to the contractor.
Let senior members give their suggestions/views.
Regards