EPFO Launches Amnesty Scheme 2026 for Retrospective PF Trust Regularisation

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) opened a six-month route on June 29, 2026, for private provident fund trusts to obtain retrospective legal recognition under India’s labor laws. The one-time Amnesty Scheme 2026 runs through December 29, 2026.

The program targets establishments that operated private PF trusts recognized under the Income Tax Act, 1961, but lacked a formal government exemption notification under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. That distinction left some trusts recognized for tax purposes without the corresponding labor-law status.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment notified the scheme on June 29. It issued a detailed release on July 12 inviting eligible establishments to apply through their respective Regional Offices.

The ministry said the measure will grant retrospective approval under Section 17 of the EPF & MP Act, 1952, and Section 143 of the Code on Social Security, 2020.

“Amnesty shall be granted to such establishments retrospectively under Section 17 of the Act and Section 143 of the Code on Social Security, 2020. Eligible establishments are encouraged to submit applications via email to their respective Regional Offices.”

The July 12 release from the Ministry of Labour and Employment sets out the application route. Establishments must apply during the six-month window.

Two groups can seek retrospective recognition

The scheme divides applicants into two categories. The first covers establishments seeking retrospective regularisation while either already complying as un-exempted establishments or choosing un-exempted compliance in the future.

The second covers establishments seeking the same retrospective recognition but intending to continue operating as exempted entities under the Code on Social Security, 2020.

The distinction determines the establishment’s future compliance position. Both categories can seek recognition for the trust’s earlier operation.

The framework follows changes introduced through the Finance Act, 2026. Those changes provide that tax recognition for a provident fund is available only when the fund has an official exemption under Section 17 of the EPF & MP Act, 1952.

The scheme therefore connects tax recognition with the exemption status required under labor law. It also supports the transition to the Code on Social Security, 2020.

Trusts can receive relief from proceedings and conditions

Eligible establishments may receive relief in pending proceedings involving dues, damages, and interest. The proceedings may be withdrawn or abated if employee member accounts received contributions and interest at rates equal to or higher than the statutory rates applied by the provident fund authority.

The relief is conditional. Employee accounts must meet the contribution and interest standard set by the scheme.

The government also waived several requirements under the Code on Social Security, 2020. The concessions cover minimum employee headcount, corpus-size rules, and the requirement for three years of prior compliance.

Those waivers remove conditions that could otherwise prevent older private trusts from qualifying for recognition. The scheme applies them within the retrospective process rather than requiring each establishment to satisfy the usual standards first.

Recognition reaches back to each trust’s beginning

Successful applicants can receive exemption status and official trust recognition from the inception of the trust through the designated cut-off date. The arrangement addresses the period in which a trust may have operated with tax recognition but without the labor-law exemption notification.

That retrospective treatment is the central feature of the measure. It gives establishments a way to resolve earlier status problems while choosing whether to remain exempted or move to un-exempted compliance.

The Press Information Bureau said the program seeks to reduce long-pending litigation and place exempted PF trusts under a uniform compliance framework. It also described the measure as a transition to the regulatory regime required by the Finance Act, 2026.

“The scheme aims to reduce long-pending litigation and bring all exempted PF trusts under a uniform compliance framework. It facilitates a smoother transition to the new regulatory regime mandated by the Finance Act, 2026.”

Employee accounts remain tied to statutory interest protections

The rules also address the retirement savings held in private trusts. Establishments seeking relief from proceedings must show that employee members received contributions and interest at least equal to the statutory EPFO rates.

That requirement links the employer’s access to amnesty with the treatment of employee accounts. A trust cannot rely solely on its tax recognition or its historical operation.

The policy responds to a regulatory gap affecting thousands of companies in India. Some operated recognized trusts for tax purposes while lacking the separate exempted status required by labor legislation.

Employers now have until December 29, 2026 to submit applications. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has directed eligible establishments to send them by email to their respective Regional Offices.