The Provident Fund Registration Procedure

The obligation

Section 3 of the Code on Social Security 2020:

(1) Every establishment to which this Code applies shall be electronically or otherwise, registered within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government:

Provided that the establishment which is already registered under any other Central labour law for the time being in force shall not be required to obtain registration again under this Code and such registration shall be deemed to be registration for the purposes of this Code

Two rules in one sub-section.

Registration is electronic, and the Code says so on its face.

And an establishment already registered under any other Central labour law does not register again. That proviso is why an establishment holding an EPF code number, or an ESIC code number, or a registration under one of the repealed Acts, is not sent back to the beginning.

Cancellation

Section 3(2) allows an establishment to which Chapter III or Chapter IV applies, and whose business activities are in the process of closure, to apply for cancellation of the registration.

Section 3(3) leaves the manner of the application, the conditions and the procedure to be prescribed by the Central Government.

Note which chapters section 3(2) names. Chapter III is provident fund and Chapter IV is state insurance, so the cancellation right belongs to exactly the two registrations this module is about.

Where it is done

On the Shram Suvidha portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, which carries a common registration for the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and the Employees' State Insurance Corporation.

One application produces both. That is the single most useful practical fact in Module II: an establishment that crosses both thresholds does not apply twice.

The steps

1. Register on the Shram Suvidha portal and create a sign-in, using the PAN of the establishment and a mobile number and email.
2. Verify the email by the link sent, and set the password.
3. Open the common registration form for EPFO and ESIC.
4. Fill the establishment details: name, PAN, constitution, address, date of setting up, the nature of the business with its National Industrial Classification code, and the date on which the strength first reached the threshold.
5. Fill the employment details: the number of employees, male and female, and the date of the first employee.
6. Fill the owner and manager details, with the PAN and Aadhaar of each partner or of the proprietor.
7. Attach the bank details of the establishment.
8. Sign with the digital signature of the authorised signatory, or by Aadhaar-based e-signature.
9. Submit. The portal validates and issues the registration.
10. Receive the establishment code, and the letter of registration, by email and on the portal.