The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has urged eligible establishments to apply promptly under its Amnesty Scheme, 2026, which offers a one-time opportunity to regularise the exemption status of certain provident fund (PF) trusts. The deadline for applications is December 28, 2026.
The scheme covers PF trusts recognised under the Income Tax Act, 1961, but which do not have a formal exemption order under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, or the Code on Social Security, 2020.
The amnesty provisions were introduced as a transitional measure under the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 2026, notified on June 29. The EPFO issued a circular on July 11 setting out the application process and other procedural requirements.
The six-month application window closes on December 28. With the deadline approaching, the EPFO has asked eligible establishments to submit their applications without delay, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a press release.
The scheme also relaxes certain statutory requirements under the Code on Social Security, 2020, including those relating to minimum employee strength, the size of the PF trust’s corpus and the three-year compliance requirement.
Once their status is regularised, establishments will have the flexibility to operate either as exempt establishments, which manage their own PF trusts subject to applicable conditions, or as unexempt establishments, which fall under the EPFO’s standard PF administration framework.