What to do if your employer does not deposit EPF contributions in your account

The absence of a contribution on your Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) account statement for an extended period of time should raise red flags. Your company may not have deposited the funds yet.

Several news outlets have documented cases of corporations failing to pay into employees' EPF accounts. The failure of Byju's to contribute to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) was recently reported in the media. Byju's reportedly paid late, but then again, that wasn't news at the time.

Here's what you can do if you discover that money that should have been deposited into your EPF account is missing.

"In case the EPF contributions have been deducted from the wages of an employee, but the employer does not deposit them into the employee's EPF account, the employee can approach the employees' provident fund authorities (EPFO) and inform them about the same," says Rama Karmakar, Tax Partner-People Advisory Services, EY India. Both an online grievance through the EPF i Grievance Management System (EPFIGMS) site and a paper complaint to the PF authorities are available to the employee.

Required EPFO Complaint Form Documents

An individual must provide specific paperwork when filing a complaint with the EPFO.

According to Vaibhav Bhardwaj, Partner at INDUSLAW, "To make a complaint on EPFO's grievance website, an employee is required to produce proof that EPF installments have been deducted but not deposited in the EPF account. An employee can prove that a deduction was taken out of their pay but not put into their EPF account by providing their pay stubs and EPF account information.

How to file complaint on the EPFIGMS portal

Using the EPFIGMS portal is as easy as following the instructions below.

When filing a complaint with the EPFO, employees should have their Universal Account Number (UAN) and the number of the relevant establishment handy. However, you can still move forward without these specifics.

Step 1: Visit the EPFIGMS portal (https://epfigms.gov.in/) and click on the "Register Grievance" tab.

Step 2: Select the status - PF member, EPS pensioner, employer or others. If an individual does not have any of the details, then select "Others" in the status. Select the status as PF member to register complaint about missing EPF contributions.

Step 3: The next step asks if you have a claim ID. Enter it if you have a grievance related to a specific claim made on the Member Sewa portal. If not, select no.

Step 4: Enter the UAN details, security code and click on "Get Details".

Step 5: Once your UAN details are shown on the screen, click on "Get OTP". A one-time password will be sent to your mobile number registered in the EPFO records.

Step 6: Enter the OTP and click on submit. Once the OTP is successfully verified, click on OK.

Step 7: An individual will be required to enter personal details - name, gender, contact information, address, etc.

Step 8: Click on "PF account number" in the "Grievance Details" column.

Step 9: Select the type of complaint, provide the complaint description and upload the necessary documents. Click on "Add" once the necessary documents have been uploaded.

Step 10: The complaint will be posted to the area titled "Grievance Details". Click on submit to file the complaint. An individual will receive an SMS once the complaint is successfully submitted. The EPFO grievance portal allows an individual to track the status of the complaint.

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What will happen to the employer ifthe complaintis found correct?

In his article, Bhardwaj states, "If the employer is found to have indeed not deposited the contribution, then they would be required to pay the contribution with interest and may also be penalised." The EPFO may then pursue legal action against the company in order to recoup the money and any damages incurred.

What if your exempted trust holds your EPF account?

Some workers' EPF funds are held not by the EPFO but by an exempted trust. Karmarkar states, "For employees under an exempted trust, a similar approach can be followed to lodge a complaint for missing EPF contributions."