The Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

1[(1) This Act may be called the Employees' ProvidentFunds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.] (2) It extends to the whole of India 2***. 3[(3) Subject to the provisions contained in section 16, it applies-- (a) to every establishment which is a factory engaged in any industry specified in Schedule I andin which 4[twenty] or more persons are employed, and (b) to any other establishment employing 4[twenty] or more persons or class of suchestablishments which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify inthis behalf: Provided that the Central Government may, after giving not less than two months notice of itsintention so to do, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply the provisions of this Act to anyestablishment employing such number of persons less than 4[twenty] as may be specified in thenotification. 5[(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3) of this section or sub-section (1) ofsection 16, where it appears to the Central Provident Fund Commissioner, whether on an applicationmade to him in this behalf or otherwise, that the employer and the majority of employees in relation toany establishment have agreed that the provisions of this Act should be made applicable to theestablishment, he may, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply the provisions of this Act to thatestablishment on and from the date of such agreement or from any subsequent date specified in suchagreement.] 6[(5) An establishment to which this Act applies shall continue to be governed by this Actnotwithstanding that the number of persons employed therein at any time falls below twenty.] 7* * * * *

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, 1[(a) "appropriate Government" means-- (i) in relation to an establishment belonging to, or under the control of, the CentralGovernment or in relation to an establishment connected with a railway company, a major port, amine or an oilfield or a controlled industry, 2[or in relation to an establishment havingdepartments or branches in more than one State], the Central Government; and (ii) in relation to any other establishment, the State Government;] 3[(aa) "authorised officer" means the Central Provident Fund Commissioner, Additional CentralProvident Fund Commissioner, Deputy Provident Fund Commissioner, Regional Provident FundCommissioner or such other officer as may be authorised by the Central Government, by notificationin the Official Gazette;] (b) "basic wages" means all emoluments which are earned by an employee while on duty or 4[onleave or on holidays with wages in either case] in accordance with the terms of the contract ofemployment and which are paid or payable in cash to him, but does not include (i) the cash value of any food concession; (ii) any dearness allowance (that is to say, all cash payments by whatever name called paid toan employee on account of a rise in the cost of living), house-rent allowance, overtime allowance,bonus commission or any other similar allowance payable to the employee in respect of hisemployment or of work done in such employment; (iii) any presents made by the employer; (c) "contribution" means a contribution payable in respect of a member under a Scheme 5[or thecontribution payable in respect of an employee to whom the Insurance Scheme applies]; (d) "controlled industry" means any industry the control of which by the Union has been declaredby a Central Act to be expedient in the public interest; 6[(e) "employer" means-- (i) in relation to an establishment which is a factory, the owner or occupier of the factory,including the agent of such owner or occupier, the legal representative of a deceased owner oroccupier and, where a person has been named as a manager of the factory under clause (f) ofsub-section (1) of section 7 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), the person so named; and (ii) in relation to any other establishment, the person who, or the authority which, has theultimate control over the affairs of the establishment, and where the said affairs are entrusted to amanager, managing director or managing agent, such manager, managing director or managingagent;] (f) "employee" means any person who is employed for wages in any kind of work, manual orotherwise, in or in connection with the work of 7[an establishment], and who gets his wages directlyor indirectly from the employer, 8[and includes any person-- (i) employed by or through a contractor in or in connection with the work of theestablishment; (ii) engaged as an apprentice, not being an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act,1961 (52 of 1961), or under the standing orders of the establishment;] 9[(ff) "exempted employee" means an employee to whom a Scheme 10[or the Insurance Scheme, asthe case may be], would, but for the exemption granted under 11*** section 17, have applied; (fff) "exempted 12[establishment]" means 13[an establishment] in respect of which an exemption hashas been granted under section 17 from the operation of all or any of the provisions of any Scheme10[or the Insurance Scheme, as the case may be], whether such exemption has been granted to the12[establishment] as such or to any person or class of persons employed therein;] (g) "factory" means any premises, including the precincts thereof, in any part of which amanufacturing process is being carried on or is ordinarily so carried on, whether with the aid of poweror without the aid of power; 14* * * * * (h) "Fund" means the provident fund established under a Scheme; (i) "industry" means any industry specified in Schedule I, and includes any other industry addedto the Schedule by notification under section 4; 10[(ia) "Insurance Fund" means the Deposit-linked Insurance Fund established undersub-section (2) of section 6C; (ib) "Insurance Scheme" means the Employees Deposit-linked Insurance Scheme framed undersub-section (1) of section 6C;] 15[16[(ic)] "manufacture" or "manufacturing process" means any process for making, altering,repairing, ornamenting, finishing, packing, oiling, washing, cleaning, breaking up, demolishing orotherwise treating or adapting any article or substance with a view to its use, sale, transport, deliveryor disposal;] (j) "member" means a member of the Fund; (k) "occupier of a factory" means the person who has ultimate control over the affairs of thefactory, and, where the said affairs are entrusted to a managing agent, such agent shall be deemed tobe the occupier of the factory; 17[(kA) "Pension Fund" means the Employees' Pension Fund established under sub-section (2) ofsection 6A; (kB) "Pension Scheme" means the Employees' Pension Scheme framed under sub-section (1) ofsection 6A;] 18[(ka) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (kb) "Recovery Officer" means any officer of the Central Government, State Government or theBoard of Trustees constituted under section 5A, who may be authorised by the Central Government,by notification in the Official Gazette, to exercise the powers of a Recovery Officer under this Act;] 19[(l) "Scheme" means the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme framed under section 5;] 20[(ll) "Superannuation", in relation to an employee, who is the member of the Pension Schememeans the attainment, by the said employee, of the age of fifty-eight years;] 21[(m) “Tribunal” means the Industrial Tribunal referred to in section 7 D].

1[2A. Establishment to include all departments and branches.--For the removal of doubts, it ishereby declared that where an establishment consists of different departments or has branches, whethersituate in the same place or in different places, all such departments or branches shall be treated as partsof the same establishment.]

1[3. Power to apply Act to an establishment which has a common provident fund with anotherestablishment.--Where immediately before this Act becomes applicable to an establishment there is inexistence a provident fund which is common to the employees employed in that establishment andemployees in any other establishment, the Central Government may, by notification in Official Gazette,direct that the provisions of this Act shall also apply to such other establishment.]

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the OfficialGazette, add to Schedule I any other industry in respect of the employees whereof it is of opinion that aprovident fund scheme should be framed under this Act, and thereupon the industry so added shall bedeemed to be an industry specified in Schedule I for the purposes of this Act. (2) All notifications under sub-section (1) shall be laid before Parliament, as soon as may be, afterthey are issued.