Can a Principal Employer Stop Future EPFO Payments to a Contractor Under the ABRY Scheme?

One of my friends is working in a manufacturing company. He provided a manpower supply contract. The contractor is registered under the ABRY scheme but didn't inform the principal employer. The principal employer made all EPFO-related statutory compliance payments (ECR) to the contractor. According to the scheme, the employer submitted the filing payment under the scheme.

Question about EPFO Payments

Now, the question is, in this case, does the principal employer have the right to not pay upcoming EPFO-related payments to the contractor?

Reimbursement of Paid EPFO Compliance Payment

If yes, then what about the paid EPFO compliance payment? Can I ask the contractor to repay the reimbursement amount?

If anyone can help me with the above question, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Best Regards,
S. Sameer

Dear Colleague, The contractor is receiving double benefits here. He is availing of benefits on contributions under ABRY as well as getting the PF contribution paid by the principal employer. This is not correct on the part of the contractor. Here, you may establish a system of reimbursement against proof of remittance so that the contractor can claim only when he remits the contribution. Regarding the past, you may recover the excess payments made as per the terms of the contract agreement with the contractor.