Confused About PF Document Requirements and Timelines? Need Guidance!

I am working for a startup company which is just 3 years old. As a new policy of the company, we applied for PF last month. After the application, the PF officer came to our office to verify the documents. Since it was a startup, a few documents were missing, which he mentioned should be produced at the PF office. These missing documents were produced within a week.

Now, again last week, the PF officer visited our office and issued a showcase notice to produce all the same documents again. Along with that, we were asked to provide the books of accounts from the day the company started, the employee attendance sheet from the beginning, the employee payout sheet from the beginning, and also to deposit the PF amount from the day the company crossed 20 employees.

Questions Regarding PF Application

My question is, when you apply for PF as per the law, what is the time frame to produce the documents? Also, what documents need to be produced? Is the entire accounts book required to be produced to the PF commissioner? Additionally, I want to understand if the company is liable for notices within 1 month of the PF application, as we started receiving the notices from the second week onwards.

Can anybody guide me regarding the PF norms? I tried to check on the PF portal but am unable to get details.

Thanks in advance.

Earlier, before registering the company with the PF, we were supposed to submit all the relevant documents to get the PF number. Now, with the option for online submission, we can obtain the PF number and allotment letter immediately. Therefore, as soon as we receive the PF certificate, we must submit the supporting documents to the PF department.

According to PF rules, once the employee strength reaches 20 or more, it is mandatory to register and contribute the PF amount. If the company fails to register immediately when the employee strength reaches 20, the company must still contribute the PF amount to the department retroactively from the date the employee count crossed 20.

The PF department requires us to provide the attendance sheet and salary statement from the beginning to verify when the employee strength reached 20. Based on these records, they will issue a notice for payment of back wages, and the coverage will commence from when the employee count reached 20 and above. The reason for requesting the book of accounts is to cross-check the information provided with the company's records.

Thank you.