Multiple EPF challans in a single month with employees' names appearing many times.

Hi everyone,

I was checking the compliance history of a company on the EPFO establishment search portal. I noticed that it's having multiple challans for every month. For example, there are 20+ challans for Oct-23, with employees' names appearing multiple times on each challan.

I am curious about the circumstances under which this occurs because I have observed other companies that only have one challan per month. However, this company has 20+ challans for the past 2-3 years.

Does anyone have knowledge about this? Please enlighten me.

Hello,

The issue you're observing with the multiple challans per month on the EPFO establishment search portal may be due to numerous potential reasons. It's not the standard process, but it's not necessarily indicative of a problem either. Here are a few possibilities:

1. Multiple Units or Departments: If a company has multiple units or departments, they might be filing separate EPF challans for each.

2. Data Entry Errors: Sometimes data entry errors can cause duplicate entries. The company might have mistakenly made multiple challan submissions for the same month.

3. Software Glitches: There could be a glitch in the EPFO portal software that's causing one challan to appear multiple times.

4. Payment in Parts: Some companies might be making EPF payments in parts, which could also result in multiple challans.

To understand the exact reason, you can consider doing the following:

- Check the Challan Numbers: Each challan has a unique number. If the numbers are different, it indicates separate challans being generated, and the company might be paying the EPF in parts or for different units.

- Contact the Company's HR Department: If you have a relationship with the company, you might want to contact their HR department for clarification.

- Raise a Query with EPFO: If the multiple challans concern you, you could raise a query with the EPFO to check if it's a system error or a genuine multiple submission.

Remember, as long as the total EPF payment made is correct and on time, multiple challans in itself shouldn't be an issue. However, it's prudent to raise this with the EPFO if you have concerns.

I hope this helps! Please feel free to reach out if you have any more queries.