Panaji: With just over a month to go before the employee enrolment campaign ends, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Goa, has asked companies to register their employees for employee provident fund (EPF) coverage by the October 31 deadline.
The campaign covers organisations established between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2026.
“The enrollment window will close next month on October 31. Employers who have not yet availed of the one-time facility are urged to do so immediately, as no further extension shall be granted after the date,” said the EPFO regional office.
The EPFO has appealed to employers in the private and government sectors in the state to make use of the amnesty window and ensure that no eligible employee remains outside the social security net.
Employees or members of the public who are not enrolled under the EPF scheme despite being entitled to it have been asked to report instances of non-enrolment for verification by the regional office and appropriate action.
The employee enrolment campaign is by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It is a one-time amnesty scheme for organisations that have not covered their employees under EPF. Under the scheme, eligible employers can declare any employee engaged by them who was left out of EPF coverage, provided the employee is alive and continues to be employed with the establishment on the date of the declaration.
The scheme applies uniformly to all establishments, irrespective of their existing EPF coverage status, including establishments already registered with EPFO and those coming under the purview of the Act for the first time.
As a financial incentive for enrolment, the EPFO is waiving the employee share of provident fund contribution for the past period, provided the contribution was not already deducted from the employee’s wages. Employers are required to remit only the employer share of contribution, interest thereon, applicable administrative charges and a nominal lump-sum penal damage of Rs 100 per establishment.
On enrolment, employees become entitled to the full range of EPF benefits, including provident fund savings, pension coverage under EPS and insurance cover under the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme. Earlier, the state government, through a notification dated September 2, had appealed to all heads of departments to avail themselves of the benefits of the one-time amnesty scheme and enrol all eligible employees under EPF, thereby extending PF, pension and insurance coverage to their staff at the earliest.
