Managing Delayed PF Payments: Penalties, Enforcement Actions, and Resolving Notice Discrepancies

Dear sir,

In case of a delay in payment of dues, are there any penalties other than 7q & 14b, such as FIR and imprisonment? Can I pay the penalties before any notice is served by the department?

After receiving notice, if the establishment fails to pay, the department will send a reminder and deduct the amount from the bank account mentioned in Form 5A. FIR and imprisonment only come into play when the establishment is unwilling to pay and does not respond to the 7Q notice.

Yes, there are penalties if a deduction has been made from employee wages and not submitted - at least 1 year and a fine of Rs 10,000. However, this is not compulsory. So kindly make the payment, and if there is no inordinate delay, then there is nothing to worry.

Thank you for your response, but the PF officer called me into the office, and even though I requested a notice, they informed me that the notice had already been sent to our office. I did not receive any notice. I asked for the notice, but they insisted that it had already been sent. In this situation, what should I do? The officer did not show me a copy of the notice in the office as well.

Is it possible for me to make an advance payment for penal interest and damages without receiving any prior notice?

See the EPFO notification regarding the campaign of enrollment. It will help. This is valid until 31.03.2017.

Thanks,
V K Gupta

Please visit the Accounts section of EPF. They have a notice copy, and the original notice might have been returned to them due to a postal address mismatch. Obtain details of the notice and match them with your records. If found in order, you have to pay the direct challan, giving the reference of the notice number.