Can I Opt for Voluntary ESI Registration Without Mandatory PF? Seeking Advice from Fellow Shopkeepers

Hello All, I am a shopkeeper dealing in industrial spares for the last 15 years and have an employee strength of only 5. I wanted to know two things:

a) Can I go for ESI voluntary registration as all my employees desire it?

b) If it is possible to opt for ESIC voluntary registration, do I also have to register for PF? In other words, is it mandatory that once you register for ESI/EPF, you have to register for the other as well?

Please help.

In ESIS, there is no provision for voluntary registration. However, in PF, you have it. You cannot have ESIS registration with 5 staff, but you can have PF registration with 5 staff on a voluntary basis with the consent of you and the majority of your employees.

Thanks, Akhil. Just one more thing out of curiosity. If I have 10 employees and I mandatorily register for ESIC (10 employees in Odisha state), then should I have to take PF registration also even though my employee strength is below 20? I mean, is it mandatory then?

You do not need to have PF. It is not mandatory for you. However, you can choose to go voluntarily, as I mentioned earlier.

Thank you.

Hello everyone, I am Jigar Prajapati, HR from Shiv Kailash Construction Company in the Construction Industry. We are working on oil and gas pipeline projects across India. Our company's head office is in Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat (Non-Covered ESIC Zone). However, our company has many projects in locations where ESIC is applicable. We require PF and ESIC to be mandatory when submitting bills. How to Include Project Positions in ESIC In such cases, how can I include project positions in ESIC? Registering in the ESIC Portal How do I register in the ESIC Portal and generate the Company ESIC Number? Please help and provide suggestions.