Due date for depositing EPF contribution was extended to 15.05.2020 for the month of march and today is the last day, still the lockdown has not been opened and people are still waiting for extension of due date.
However, no such notification has been issued till now for further extension of Due date. A notification issued by EPFO talks about relief from penal damages for delay in deposit of EPF contribution due to lock down under section 14B of the EPFO act.
In it’s notification/ circular EPFO has said that:
“Considering the difficulty faced by the establishments in timely deposit of contributions during the period of lockdown due to operational and economic reasons, it is evident that such delays are without mens rea of the employer. Thus, the delay in deposit of contributions during the period of lockdown announced in terms of the Disasters Management Act, 2005 cannot be attributed to any culpable state of mind of the employer and will not, therefore, attract the provisions of Section 14B of the EPF act.”
Thus, according to above notification it only provide relief from penal provision under section 14B and not interest on delay payment u/s 7Q of the EPF act at the rate of 12%. Thus, any payment after 15.05.2020 would attract interest for delayed payment.
To read the notification CLICK HERE.
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