Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
20-employee trigger
Mandatory at 20 employees; voluntary registration is possible earlier. Confirm coverage for your case.
Contributions
12% from each side on basic + DA, with a ₹15,000 statutory wage ceiling.
Coverage detail and voluntary registration
The 20-employee count can include not just permanent staff but, in many cases, contract and casual workers engaged through the business, which can bring a firm into coverage sooner than expected. Once an establishment is covered it stays covered even if the headcount later falls below 20. Employees earning basic wages up to the ₹15,000 statutory ceiling must be enrolled; those above it can be brought in too by agreement. A business below 20 can register voluntarily, which some do to offer staff the EPF benefit and to support hiring. After registration, monthly obligations begin: generate the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) and deposit both shares by the 15th of the following month. Employee Universal Account Numbers (UANs) are linked so balances follow workers between jobs. Getting the wage definition right at setup — what counts as basic for the 12% — matters, because under-contribution surfaces later as a demand with interest and damages. Confirming current coverage for your particular workforce before you register avoids a back-period liability.