Employees’ Enrolment Campaign 2025 to cover employees under the EPF Scheme

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has unveiled the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign 2025 (EEC 2025), a program aimed at incorporating a significant number of employees into the framework of an organised social security via the EPFO. This scheme seeks to motivate employers, both of those already registered and those newly subject to the EPF Act, 1952, to voluntarily declare and enrol eligible employees.

Duration of the Scheme:
The Scheme will be in effect from 1^st November 2025, until 30^th April 2026.

Eligible employees:
Employers are permitted to enrol all current employees who joined the establishment between 1^st July 2017 and 31^st October 2025, and who are alive and employed at the time of the declaration, but were not enrolled in the EPF Scheme for any reason.

Contributions to be made:
The employees’ share of contributions for the past period (1^st July 2017 to 31^stOctober 2025) will be waived if it has not been deducted from the wages of respective employees. The employer is only obligated to pay their own share of contribution for that period. However, in cases wherein inquiries under section 7A of the Act, or under paragraph 26B of the Scheme, or under paragraph 8 of the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995, are pending and the employer opts for the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2025, both the employee and the employer contribution shall be payable as per the provisions of the Act and Schemes made thereunder.

Applicable Damages:
Employers utilising this scheme will be required to pay a nominal penal damage of Rs. 100/- (hundred) only as a one-time payment, which is a considerable reduction from the usual penalties for non-compliance. Nevertheless, interest on employer’s share and prescribed administrative charges will still apply.

Online declaration:
The Employer are required to make the declaration through an online platform provided by EPFO, where they must specify the details of the enrolled employees and link it to the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (Temporary Return Reference Number), through which the payment of contributions have been processed and pay lump-sum penal damages of one hundred rupees. Initially, it is essential to create a UAN authenticated by the Face Authentication Technology- through the UMANG application for each of the eligible employees declared under the Scheme and ensure that their contributions are paid through an Electronic Challan-cum-Return.

The submission of multiple undertakings or declarations shall not be allowed.