EPFO launches amnesty scheme for Provident Fund Trusts

The Ministry of Labour & Employment has introduced a one-time amnesty opportunity under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme 2026. This initiative allows Provident Fund (PF) Trusts that are recognized under the Income Tax Act, 1961, but lack formal exemption orders under the EPF & MP Act, 1952, or the Code on Social Security (CoSS), 2020, to seek retrospective regularisation of their exempt status.

The amnesty scheme is available for a six-month period, with applications due by late December 2026. Eligible entities include institutions seeking trust regularisation that have already initiated compliance as non-exempted, as well as those continuing to operate under exemptions from the Social Security Code.

Under this scheme, certain requirements of the CoSS, 2020, will be waived, such as minimum employee headcount, corpus size, and the three-year compliance rule. Additionally, assessments related to charges and interest will be withdrawn and waived, provided that contributions and interest credited to member accounts meet or exceed statutory rates.