EPF Payment Online
Employee Provident Fund, or EPF, is a retirement benefit saving scheme operated by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation of India (EPFO), in which every employee is expected to contribute 12% of their basic pay to the fund. The employer contributes similarly to the fixed-rate of 12 per cent.
According to the most recent notification, it is now mandatory for organizations registered under the PF Act to make PF payments online. EPF online payments can be made through EPFO’s official website or directly through your bank’s authorised net banking accounts.
Process for EPF Payment Online
To make EPF online payment through the EPFO portal, employers need to follow the steps as mentioned below:
- Login to the EPFO portal using your Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) credentials. The link for the official EPFO portal is https://unifiedportal-emp.epfindia.gov.in/epfo/.
- Now, before making payment cross-check all the PF details, including establishment ID, Name, Address, Exemption status, etc.
- Next, pick ‘ECR Upload’ from the drop-down menu under ‘Payment Option.’
- Fill in information like “Wage Month,” “Salary Disbursal Rate,” and “Rate of Contribution,” then upload the ECR text file.
- After you’ve submitted the ECR file, it will be checked against the predefined criteria. If all of the requirements are met, the message File Validation Successful will appear. If the file is not checked, an error will occur in the ECR text file in the specified format, requiring correction. You’ll have to re-upload it once you’ve made the necessary changes.
- As soon as the TRRN is produced, go to the page’s ‘Verify’ option.
- To generate the ECR summary sheet, select the ‘Prepare Challan’ choice, enter the Admin/Inspection charges, and then select ‘Generate Challan.’
- After you’ve double-checked the Challan number, click ‘Finalize.’
- Now, click on ‘Pay’ against the related TRRN and choose ‘online’ as the payment mode.
- Then, choose a bank from the drop-down menu to make the payment. You’ll be prompted to use net banking to make a payment on the bank’s internet login page.
- You will obtain your account id and e-payment slip once the payment has been completed successfully. On the EPFO tab, you can see the most recent status.
Deadlines for EPF Payment and EPF Return
Employers must subtract PF from an employee’s wages by the 15th of the following month. While the due dates for PF returns and PF payments are the same, EPFO has allowed companies to file Electronic Challan Cum Returns without having to make PF payments at the same time to provide relief to employers in these COVID times. There are EPF withdrawn rules in which you can get to know how you can withdraw.
Late Payment Penalty in EPF
The following penalties apply if the PF challan is not paid on time:
- Late payment interest: If the EPF contribution is not deposited before the deadline, the employer is charged a daily interest rate of 12% per annum under Section 7Q.
- Late payment penalties: If an EPF Challan payment is not made on time, the following penalties must be paid under Section 14B.
- 5% p.a. interest with a delay of up to two months
- For a delay of 2-4 months, the interest rate is 10% p.a.
- For a 4-6 month delay, the interest rate is 15% p.a.
- For a delay of more than 6 months, there is a 25% annual interest rate.
Objectives of the Fund
EPF is a retirement compensation program designed to help government, public, and private sector workers financially as they retire or leave their employment. The following are some of the other goals of EPF funds:
- To mobilize the savings generated by mandatory provident fund contributions made by both workers and employers.
- To expand coverage so that a greater group of workers in the organized sector who are not currently covered can be brought under the EPFK umbrella and benefit from it.
- It also aids in generating the highest possible return on investment for the members’ benefit.
- The aim of the EPF fund is to provide social security to EPF members.
- The EPF conducts research to investigate welfare programs that can help all EPF members.
FAQs
✅ How do I make an online EPF payment?
EPF online payments can be made through EPFO’s official website or directly through your bank’s authorised net banking accounts.
✅ What is the deadline for EPF payment?
Employers must subtract PF from an employee’s wages by the 15th of the following month.
✅ What is the procedure for obtaining a PF invoice receipt?
On effective EPF payment, you will obtain your transaction id and e-payment slip.
✅ How should I go about filing my EPF monthly return?
Using your Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) credentials, you can fill out your EPF monthly return or electronic challan return on EPFO’s official website. The official EPFO portal can be found at https://unifiedportal-emp.epfindia.gov.in/epfo/.