The Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoLE) on September 02, 2026, notified regarding the retrospective regularization of exempt status for Provident Fund Trusts through Amnesty provisions in the EPF Scheme 2026.
The EPFO Amnesty provisions, introduced under the EPF Scheme, 2026, notified on June 29, 2026, provide a one-time opportunity for PF Trusts recognized under the Income Tax Act, 1961 but without a formal exemption order under Section 17 of the EPF&MP Act, 1952 or Section 143 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, to regularise their exemption status.
The scheme is available for six months, up to December 28, 2026, with operational guidelines issued on July 11, 2026. It allows retrospective regularisation and provides waivers of certain CoSS requirements, including minimum employee strength, corpus size and the three-year compliance requirement. After regularisation, establishments may choose to operate as either exempt or unexempt establishments. EPFO is conducting stakeholder outreach, including through ICAI and field offices, and has also approached the Income Tax Department to strengthen verification of PF Trust exemption status.
[Press release id: 2305867]
