A compliance briefing for employers navigating India’s new provident fund regime

The backdrop: why this matters right now

On 29 June 2026, the Ministry of Labour and Employment quietly rewrote a seven-decade-old rulebook. The Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme 2026 replaced the 1952 Scheme, folding the entire provident fund architecture into the Code on Social Security, 2020. Buried inside this otherwise procedural notification, however, are two provisions that every HR head, payroll manager and CFO in the country should be reading twice: the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2026 and VISHWAS, 2026.

Think of them as two time-bound compliance windows. One allows employers to bring missed employees into the EPF net on concessional terms. The other allows employers to settle old damages disputes without carrying legacy litigation endlessly. Both come with deadlines. Both require clean disclosures. And both reward employers who act before the department acts for them.

Let’s unpack each one, in plain language.

Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2026 — A one-time regularisation window

What it is

A one-time opportunity for employers to formally bring undeclared employees into the EPF fold — without facing the punitive damages that would normally follow.

Who can use it

Any employer, whether already covered under the Code or not. There is no filter for “clean” versus “problem” establishments — even units currently under a compliance inquiry can participate provided the employee concerned has not already been covered by a concluded determination under Section 125 of the Code or Section 7A of the erstwhile Act.

Who can be enrolled

Employees who joined the establishment anywhere between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2026, are still on the rolls  of the employer under Campaign on the designated EPFO portal and were never formally enrolled despite being eligible for membership.

Wage-ceiling qualification

The Campaign does not override the existing membership conditions under the Scheme. Accordingly, a person who became a new employee after 1 September 2014 and whose pay exceeded the applicable wage ceiling would not be eligible for EPF membership merely by virtue of the Campaign. However, an employee who was already an EPF member would continue to remain eligible irrespective of salary.

The window

It opened with the notification i.e., 29 June 2026 and closes on 31 October 2026. After that date, this door shuts.

The financial sweetener

This is where the Campaign earns its keep as a genuine relief measure, not just a paperwork exercise:

• Employee contribution for the entire back period (April 2009 to March 2026) stands waived, provided the employee’s share was neither deducted from wages nor otherwise recovered from the employee.
• The employer is required to remit only its own share of provident fund contribution, together with interest under Section 127 of the Code at the rate of simple interest of 12% per annum, as notified by the Central Government vide notification dated 8 May 2026, along with the applicable administrative charges.
• The real relief lies in damages. Eligible enrolments under this Campaign is a flat ₹100 for defaults relating to the period from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2026. (Clarity is required whether the extant damage of Rs. 100 is for per employee or per application)
• For employees who had already left before the declaration date, the employer availing the Campaign benefits will not be subjected to proceedings in respect of such former employees, provided the employer gives an undertaking that all existing and eligible employees have been declared and that no deducted-but-undeposited employee contribution, along with the related employer contribution, remains pending for deposit in the Fund.

The mechanics — implementation process

1. Generate a Universal Account Number (UAN) for each eligible employee, authenticated through Face Authentication Technology on the UMANG app. This is now mandatory, not optional.
2. Remit the contribution through an Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR).
3. File the declaration through EPFO’s designated online portal, linking it to the Temporary Return Reference Number of the ECR, and pay the Lumpsum damage of ₹100 each defaulting establishment (unless clarified otherwise).
4. Multiple declarations are permitted which means that an employer discovering more undeclared employees later in the window does not restrict the employer from filing another application for covering pending undeclared employees.

The Conditions Behind the Concession

• If an inquiry under Section 125 of the Code (or its predecessor, Section 7A of the old Act) is already concluded in respect of an employee, that case cannot be brought under the Campaign — this route is for the undeclared and the pending, not the already-adjudicated.
• Declarations based on misrepresentation or suppression of facts are void ab initio. In other words, the amnesty evaporates retroactively, and the employer becomes liable to the full weight of the law — arguably a worse position than not having declared at all. Accuracy isn’t optional; it’s the entire bargain.
• From the date of declaration, the employer steps back into full, ongoing compliance — this is a bridge to good standing, not a permanent exemption.

VISHWAS, 2026 — literally “trust,” and that’s the point

If the Enrolment Campaign is about employees who were missed, VISHWAS is about the money that’s been stuck in dispute — old damages orders, pending recoveries, half-finished inquiries that have clogged EPFO’s litigation pipeline for years.

What it is

A settlement scheme specifically for damages levied under Section 14B of the erstwhile Act (now Section 128 of the Code), which empowers the EPFO to levy damages on employers for delayed or defaulted payment of provident fund contributions and other statutory dues. VISHWAS applies to such defaults relating to periods before 14 June 2024.

The window: 

The Scheme remains open for six months from the date of notification, i.e., 29 June 2026. This period may be extended by the Central Provident Fund Commissioner by a further six months for reasons recorded in writing.

Who qualifies

VISHWAS casts a fairly wide net over unresolved damages matters u/s 14B of the erstwhile Act (now 128 of code):

• Orders already passed but under legal challenge before any judicial forum.
• Orders passed where the amount is yet to be recovered.
• Notices issued but no final order passed yet.
• Cases where not even a notice has been issued.
• Appeals or judicial proceedings pending against eligible notices or damages orders, which will abate upon payment of the recalculated damages.

The one clear exclusion: if the entire damages amount has already been fully deposited, there’s nothing to settle — VISHWAS isn’t a refund mechanism.

What the employer actually gains

• The real settlement benefit lies in the recalculation of legacy damages 

Amounts that may earlier have been determined under paragraph 32A of the erstwhile EPF Scheme at annual rates ranging from 5% to 25% are recalculated at the reduced monthly rates prescribed under paragraph 23 of the new Scheme:

For employers carrying long-pending damages matters, this recalculation can materially reduce the settlement burden.

• Interest remains payable: 

While VISHWAS offers relief from damages, it does not waive interest. Interest under Section 7Q of the erstwhile Act or Section 127 of the Code, as applicable, must still be paid in full at the notified rate of 12% simple interest per annum.

• Adjustment of earlier payments:

Any amount already paid towards damages will be adjusted against the recalculated liability. If the amount already paid exceeds the revised liability, the excess will neither be refunded nor carried forward. If it falls short, the employer must remit the balance.

• Closure of pending proceedings:

Once the recalculated damages are remitted, any pending appeal or judicial proceeding against the eligible notice or order will stand abated.

The catch employers must accept upfront

To use VISHWAS, the employer must file an undertaking that no further appeal will be filed once the dispute is abated under this route. This is a genuine trade-off, not a free pass: you’re choosing certainty and a lower bill today over the (often slim) chance of winning outright at a tribunal years from now. For most employers sitting on ageing, low-probability appeals, that trade is a rational one — but it deserves a proper cost-benefit conversation with counsel before signing.

Reading between the lines: what this signals

Together, the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign and VISHWAS signal a clear shift in EPFO’s compliance strategy.

On one side, the regulator is moving towards tighter digital enforcement: Aadhaar-linked UANs, portal-based declarations, ECR-linked payments and structured timelines. On the other, it is offering employers a narrow and time-bound opportunity to regularise historical non-compliance on more favourable terms.

That combination — a clean-up window before stricter enforcement bites — is not accidental. And it rarely remains open for long.

Employers with undeclared eligible employees, pending EPF inquiries, old damages orders or unresolved litigation should treat this as a boardroom-level compliance issue, not a routine payroll task.

What employers should actually do this month

1. Audit workforce and payroll records from April 2009 onwards to identify employees who should have been enrolled but were not.
2. Review all pending Section 7A / Section 125 and Section 14B / Section 128 matters and map them against the Campaign and VISHWAS eligibility conditions.
3. Prepare for UAN generation and ECR filing early, especially where a large number of employees need to be regularised.
4. Draft undertakings carefully. Both schemes depend on truthful and complete declarations. A careless statement can undo the very protection the employer is trying to obtain.
5. Run the numbers before the window closes.  Recalculate the damages under VISHWAS, adjust for any payments already made, and understand the revised settlement amount before making your decision. The relief is real, but so are the conditions.
6. Review whether any employee contribution has been deducted but remained unpaid, as such cases may not qualify for the Campaign benefit.

The window is open. It has a closing date. And for once, the compliance math genuinely favours the employer who moves first.

Disclaimer: 

EPFO has issued implementation guidelines for the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2026 vide Circular No. EEC/2025/E-1190921/4278204 dated 8 July 2026. Separate operational guidelines for VISHWAS, 2026 are awaited.