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nasscom's representation to EPFO for extension of March 03, 2023 deadline with respect to EPS-95
nasscom's representation to EPFO for extension of March 03, 2023 deadline with respect to EPS-95

February 22, 2023

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On November 4, 2022 the Supreme Court of India through its judgement on the Employee Pension Scheme – 1995 (EPS-95) instructed the office of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to allow certain category of employees to apply for the option of higher pension benefits by contributing to EPS calculated on actual salary and not on the wage ceiling.

In the judgement, the Supreme Court granted a window of 4 months for eligible employees to apply for such higher pension. The window closes on March 03, 2023.

The EPFO has issued three circulars till date to comply with the directions of the SC judgement - Circular dated December 29, 2022, Circular dated January 25, 2023 and Circular dated February 20, 2023.

However, it is important to note that a procedure (application process) has not yet been published.

While there are merely few days (less than 10 working days) to go before the deadline ends on March 03, 2023, the EPFO has not yet provided the procedural details for exercising the option. For instance, the latest circular provides that the form for making a request, declaration and disclaimer in the request, and the URL where the application would be uploaded will be specified at a later point of time.

In the absence of these necessary procedural details and such insufficient time left, the industry is unable to do the needful to comply with the directions of the Supreme Court.

Given the insufficient time available to the industry to do the needful, in the interest of the industry to duly comply with the SC directions, NASSCOM has given representation to the EPFO office requesting an extension of the deadline of March 03, 2023.

We have provided a short description below of all circulars below for your ease of reference.

The first circular dated December 29, 2022 clarified who would be eligible to apply for pension basis the judgement and relevant information that would be needed from the employer to fulfil the same.

The second circular January 25, 2023 stated that in cases where the pension amount was calculated on a higher wage as opposed to the set ceiling – the EPFO would restore the amount on wages up to ceiling of Rs 5k or Rs 6.5K after giving advance notice to such employees followed by an opportunity of hearing to establish that the option was exercised.

The third and latest circular, dated February 20, 2023 stated that EPFO's new procedure will enable subscribers and their employers to jointly apply for higher pension under the EPS-95. The circular highlights that the application should contain the proof of remittance of employer's share in provident fund on higher wages exceeding the prevalent wage ceiling of Rs 5000/6500 and a proof of joint option under 26(6) of the EPF scheme duly verified by the employer. The circular further states that the method of deposit and of computation of pension will follow through subsequent circulars.

Further, the new procedure would be available through a URL, that will be provided for employees who continued to be a subscriber of EPS on or before 01.09.2014. Each application will be digitally logged, and a receipt number will be shared with the applicant.

For any queries related to this representation, kindly write to, sudipto@nasscom.in or priyanshi@nasscom.in.


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