EPFO begins urgent work to increase salary cap hike

FM had announced in the budget that mployee earning upto Rs 15,000 per month will mandatory maintain an EPF account

Retirement body Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is initiating urgent moves to facilitate union government's decision to enhance wage ceiling from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in the Union Budget that an employee earning upto Rs 15,000 per month will mandatory maintain an EPF account - earlier the wage limit was Rs 6,500.

In a notice to zonal officers, the EPFO headquarter directed its officers to initiate preparatory activities. "The employment officer may be directed to visit the establishments to check the total number of employees drawing salary beyond Rs 6,500 and upto Rs 15,000 and not enrolled as members," the circular said.

The enforcement officers have also been asked to visit firms where "there is concentration of large number of workers particularly the building and construction industries, placement agencies, etc." Such visiting officers have been directed to also meet the representatives of the workers' union to apprise them about the notification.

According to a senior government official, the notification is yet to be issued. The union government has allocated Rs 250 cover in the current financial year for this purpose. Along with this, recently, the government also notified increasing the minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month to all EPF subscribers.