Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Management and Regulation of EPF Exempted Establishments

Earlier, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, vide circular no. E-III/10(116)2023/SOP-ManagementandRegulation/1071, dated 6^th October 2023, had issued an SOP for Management and Regulation of EPF Exempted Establishments, in which EPFO had communicated that Form- 5, and Form RM-6, i.e., the Balance Sheet of the Trust Fund and the Format of the Third-Party Audit, were under preparation and would be issued separately.

Now, in pursuant to the above circular, the EPFO has finalized Form- RM-6 (Format of Third-Party Audit), and has published the same through its circular no. E-III/10(116)2023/SOP-ManagementandRegulation-Part(1)/6102, dated 11^th July 2024.

Para 27AA of the Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, speaks about terms and conditions for exempted establishments. The said format (Form RM-6) is specifically issued under condition 24(a) of Appendix A of Para 27AA of EPF Scheme, 1952, which reads as follows:

“The account of the Provident Fund maintained by the Board of Trustees shall be subject to audit by a qualified independent chartered accountant annually. Where considered necessary, the CPFC or the RPFC in charge of the Region shall have the right to have the accounts re-audited by any other qualified auditor, and the expenses so incurred shall be borne by the employer”