If labour contractor has not paid the EPF of the laborers and then is the Principal employer liable for the payment of EPF?

If labour contractor has not paid the EPF of the laborers and then is the Principal employer liable for the payment of EPF? If yes Penalty payment of EPF is also required to be borned by principal employer

There are certain case laws where court has been decided that if the Contractor has its own code, then it is the responsibility of contractor to comply not the PE.

But each case has its own merit. There are several types of agreement between PE and contractor which is very important to judge the situation. If the PE is not paying properly to the contractor, then the case merit will be different. Again the PE is making payment properly but the contractor is not complying, then it is another situation.

To my opinion first thing to select ethical contractor, payment by PE on time and regular check (monthly) by PE about compliance status of contractor possibly will make the situation smooth.

S K Bandyopadhyay ( WB, Howrah)
CEO-USD HR Solutions
+91 98310 81531
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