Guide on Filing Annual Provident Fund Returns (PF Returns) Online India

Last Updated on July 19, 2024 by Kanakkupillai

Government employees get many benefits when compared with private employees; one of such benefits is receiving a pension, and people who work in private companies do not have this choice. The Provident Fund is a social security scheme initiated to encourage savings among employees. This security scheme benefits employee during the period of their retirement. A Provident Fund (PF) is connoted for all salaried employees, and it is governed and maintained by The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (PF Act).

A Provident fund is a social security system that was introduced for the purpose of financially securing the retirement years of an employee. PF contributions can only be withdrawn by the employee at the time of his/her retirement, barring a few exceptions. Provident fund returns must be filed by all entities with PF registration every month. PF return is due on the 25th of each month. Further, a final PF return is due on the 25th of April for the year ending on the 31st of March. PF Payment: Provident Fund (PF) payments are due on the 15th of each month.
It is mandatory that private companies that have more than 20 employees register with EPFO.

PF Annual Filing– By 30^th April of every year, the annual Provident fund returns (EPF Annual Returns) Online India must be filed. This must be carried out by filing Form 3A and Form 6A. Account Statement Filed Annually- Along with this, the EPFO has to send the annual account statement regarding the filings.

The PF of employees serves as a resource scheme for employees as a particular amount of their salary is deducted and saved every month. This saved amount can be availed when they retire from the company or when they are not in a position to work. This security scheme can keep you safe and confident as there is no need to get money from others for your expenses after your retirement.

What is the Procedure for Filing the EPF Annual Return?

The process by which a PF return has to be filed by the employer has to be in compliance with the requirements of the Unified Portal of PF filing. Any employer that is registered under the system of Employees Provident Fund System has to mandatorily consider filing the returns on time.

Form 2: Such form 2 is utilized by the employer for a flagship scheme under the Employee Family Scheme utilized by the employee. For the above, Form 2 must be submitted along with Form 5. In this section, both part A and part B must be filed as per the requirements.

Form 5: This Form 5 is a monthly compliance report which is required to be filed. Any employee who is newly enrolled in the systems related to the provident fund.

Form 10: Any form individual or employee who is not part of the organization would be present under this form 10.

Account Statement Filed Annually:

Along with this, the EPFO has to send the annual account statement regarding the filings.

• Copy of partnership deed (In case of partnership firm)
• Certificate of Incorporation (In case of Private or Public Company)
• Registration Certificate (In case of society)
• PAN details of the company
• Proof of Company Incorporation
• Salary details of employees
• Balance Sheet details

Annual EPF Return Filing – Form 3A & Form 6A

In India, PF registration is mandatory for employers who have more than 20 employees in their organization. The contributions to Provident Fund are made both by the employer and the employee every month. The employee can withdraw these contributions only at the time of his/her retirement, except for a few exceptions. Annual returns of Provident Fund PF are a must and it has to be filed by the 30th of April every year. Form 3A and Form 6A are the two forms used to file annual Provident Fund returns.

1) Form 3A EPF

This form 3A EPF is known as an employee’s annual contribution card; it describes the contributions made by the employee and employer towards the Provident Fund and Pension Fund every month in that respective year. The information is computed for every employee who is a part of the Provident Fund scheme. This scheme requires the following details:

• Account number
• Name of the subscriber
• Name of the father or husband or Name of the wife or mother
• Name and address of the organization
• The statutory rate of contribution
• Voluntary contribution rate, if any
• Form 3A demands the signature and seal of the employer as mandatory details.

How to generate Form 3A EPF?

To Generate Form 3A EPF,

2) Form 6A EPF

This form 6A EPF is an amalgamated annual contribution statement that holds all the information related to the annual contributions of each employee of the organization. Form 6A requires the following details

• Account Number
• Name of the subscriber/member
• Amount of worker’s contribution debited from the salary
• Employer’s contribution to employee’s PF
• Wages, Retaining allowance (if any), and D.A.
• Refund of advances
• Rate of higher voluntary contribution (if any)
• Remarks

Apart from the above details, the following details must be filled in the ‘Amount Remitted’ column of form 6A while filing the annual PF return:

• Month of contribution
• Pension fund contribution
• Remitted contribution, including a refund of advances
• EDLI Contribution
• Charges of Administration
• Aggregate contributions

Annual Account Statement

The employer is responsible for filing returns using Forms 3 and Form 6; the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), in turn, will mail the annual statement of accounts to each employee via his/her employer. The statement of accounts will have the following details related to the Provident Fund:

• Opening balance of contribution that consists of the interest of the employer and the employee of the organization
• The annual contribution of both the employer and employee.
• Interest is made through contributions.
• A total number of contributions done by both the employer and employee.

PF Annual Filing Due Date

The due date for PF Annual filing is the 30th of April every year. By 30th April of every year, the annual returns for PF must be filed. This must be carried out by filing Form 3A and Form 6A. This is an electronic monthly return to be uploaded by the employers through the Employer e-Sewa portal. The return will have the member-wise details of the wages and contributions, as well as basic details for the new and existing members.

PF Due Date if it falls on Sunday/Government Holiday

As per the old rule, 100% EPF withdrawal is allowed after 2 months of unemployment. EPF corpus withdrawal is exempted from tax but under certain conditions. Tax exemption on EPF corpus is permitted only if an employee contributes to the EPF account for 5 continuous years.

Earlier, employers were charged with penalties for payments that cross the due date, even if that particular due date was a government holiday/Sunday. But now, that too after EPFO’s recent update, PF payments after the due date are treated as normal payments and there is no need for penal damages when the due date falls on Sunday/Government Holiday.

Benefits of Provident Fund in India

• You can receive a fixed income after retirement, sitting at home in your old age.
• You can invest more than the basic, i.e. 12% of your monthly income under the services of a Volunteer provident fund
• Under the Provident Fund, you can get life insurance at any age.
• Provident Fund allows you to have a nominee from your family so that they can get the monthly income or pension after your demise
• You can withdraw Provident Fund after 60 and can avail of both  EPF and EPS
• In any emergency situation and also under unavoidable defined circumstances such as weddings, job loss, loan repayment, and so on, you can withdraw your PF early.
• Having a Provident Fund is not compulsory, though it is strongly recommended to everyone to join to keep their life secure after retirement.

Conclusion

It is necessary to file annual Provident Fund by April 30 of each year. Form 3A and Form 6A are needed to file an annual Provident Fund return. The Provident Fund, a form of social security, was established to help employees prepare for retirement and encourage saving. Both the employer and the employee contribute to the PF each month.

It’s important to regularly monitor your PF contributions to ensure that you’re on track to reach your retirement goals. By using the Kanakkupillai PF calculator, you can quickly determine whether you’re contributing enough and adjust your savings plan accordingly.

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