As many as 149 companies have been issued a notice for not depositing the provident fund (PF) amount of their employees for the past one year by the Regional Office of the Employees PF Organisation (EPFO) here. The authorities have warned of a legal action if the pending amount is not deposited within the scheduled period.

An official of the EPFO claimed that issuance of the notices to the defaulter companies was part of the legal process and the department might issue arrest warrants or attachment of bank accounts if the companies fail to respond and clear the pending contribution in the given time period.

Rs 6.16 cr recovery made in last fiscal

An EPFO official said a recovery of Rs 6.16 crore as PF contribution had been made from as many as 70 companies in the region (Faridabad and Palwal) in 2023-24

The amount was realised after the issuance of the arrest warrants by the EPFO. As many as 120 bank accounts had been frozen by the department during the process

He said a recovery of Rs 6.16 crore as PF contribution had been made from as many as 70 companies in the region (Faridabad and Palwal) in 2023-24. The amount was realised after the issuance of the arrest warrants by the EPFO. As many as 120 bank accounts had been frozen by the department during the process. The EPFO office has also attached the bank accounts of around 56 companies in the past 15 months for their failure to deposit the PF contribution.

A registered company needs to deposit 12 per cent of the basic salary of an employee and an equal amount from the management as PF contribution to the EPFO office under the rules and the regulations notified by the government. The department is authorised to take action under the PF and the Income Tax proceeding rules which provides the power of recovery from the defaulting companies.

The warrants could be issued under Sections 8- B and 8- G of the PF Act in which the police are to execute the order. Attachment of the property could also be done if the PF rules are not complied with by the registered companies, said an official, adding that the department may resort to issuance of the prohibitory orders to recover the pending amount from the third party in case the latter owes any payment to the defaulter organisation.

Faridabad district has around 28,000 industrial and commercial units. Krishan Kumar, Assistant Commissioner, EPFO , Faridabad has said while notices are issued on a regular basis to the defaulter companies, the department may resort to action like attachment of the bank accounts, property and issuance of the arrest warrants and lodging of FIRs as part of the legal process.