Evasion of PF contribution: Action initiated against 200 firms in Ludhiana

Regional provident fund commissioner-1 (RPFC-1) Saurabh Swami, who assumed charge on Tuesday, has initiated action against 200 establishments in the city for intentionally hiding the actual number of employees working with them in order to avoid depositing their provident fund contribution.

Swami said, “There are as many as 13,000 companies registered with the Ludhiana Regional Commissionerate of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), of which 44 have more than 1,000 employees. However, there are only 2,98,234 provident fund holders. Prima facie, it appears that the difference between the working force in Ludhiana and the total number of provident fund holders is huge.”

“Of the 13,000 registered establishments, 9,578 are currently operational and only 5,298 are actively depositing EPF contributions. Around 1,000 firms will be put in the closed category soon,” Swami added.

Swami has also made a defaulters’ list which includes 545 establishments. The list is divided into two parts - one with those who turned defaulters just three months ago and the other from January 1, 2022.

The Ludhiana Regional Commissionerate of EPFO is also collecting data from government institutions like Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) which may come under the ambit of Provident Fund Act 1952. It is also analysing data of contractual workers of Ludhiana municipal corporation.

Saurabh Swami assumed charge as RPFC-1 on Tuesday, replacing Dheeraj Gupta.

He had earlier served in Bathinda, Rohtak, Delhi, and Ambattur in Chennai. Addressing a press conference, he said his aim is to increase the number of provident fund holders in the city to at least 3 lakh in the near future.