PF Trusts can avail one-time Amnesty scheme for regularisation till December 28: EPFO

New Delhi: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has announced a one-time Amnesty scheme valid until December 28, 2026, thus allowing Provident Fund (PF) Trusts that are recognized under the Income Tax Act but lack a formal exemption order under the EPF law to regularize their official exemption status.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment in a press note said that the Amnesty provisions were introduced as a transitional measure under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme 2026, notified on June 29, 2026.

Such provisions are a one-time opportunity for regularisation of exemption status of Provident Fund (PF) Trusts that are recognized under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), but do not have a formal exemption order granted under section 17 of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions (EPF&MP) Act, 1952 or section 143 of the Code on Social Security (CoSS), 2020, it added.

According to the ministry, The operational guidelines for Amnesty, including manner of application, procedural requirements, etc. were provided for in the detailed circular issued on 11.07.2026. The Amnesty provisions are valid for a period of six months from the date of notification i.e. up to 28.12.2026. Besides retrospective regularization of exempt status, other key benefits that will accrue to PF Trusts include waiver of certain requirements like minimum employee headcount, corpus size and 3-year compliance rule that are under the CoSS, 2020.

Post regularization on retrospective basis, an establishment may choose to comply either as an exempt or an unexempt establishment.The detailed operational guidelines, including the application process and procedural requirements, were issued by the EPFO through a circular dated July 11, 2026.

The ministry said, EPFO is making all-out efforts to ensure that prospective applicants are properly made aware of the Amnesty provisions, and through its field offices are properly guided in the entire process. As part of the outreach drive, engagement with various stakeholders is currently on.

EPFO has reached out to professional bodies like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), whose members (CAs) undertake statutory or Income Tax audit of several establishments including in many cases where such establishments have formed PF Trust Funds and are in a good position to identify PF Trusts that can potentially avail the Amnesty scheme. ICAI has been requested to circulate the Amnesty provisions among its members so as to elicit good response from PF Trusts to the Scheme. Besides the above, EPFO field offices like Zonal Office UP and Zonal Office Kolkata have conducted seminars/ workshops with stakeholders.

Additionally, EPFO has reached out to the Income tax department seeking details of PF Trusts recognized under the Income Tax Act, requesting for undertaking corresponding check of an establishment’s status of coverage and exemption under the EPF&MP Act, 1952 or CoSS, 2020 before granting recognition under the IT Act, or withdrawing of existing recognition of PF Trusts which do not have formal exemption order from EPFO.