PF Return Filing

The Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) is the mandatory monthly statutory return filed by every EPFO-registered employer on the EPFO Unified Portal. It contains employee-wise breakdowns of basic wages, EPF contributions (12%), EPS pension contributions (8.33%), EDLI insurance charges (0.5%), and administrative charges (0.5%).

Under Para 38 of the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, the monthly PF contribution must be deposited and the ECR challan filed on or before the 15th day of the succeeding month (e.g. contributions for April must be filed and paid by 15th May).

Delayed filing attracts mandatory penal damages under Section 14B ranging from 5% to 25% per annum depending on the period of delay, plus statutory interest under Section 7Q @ 12% per annum. Furthermore, under Section 36(1)(va) of the Income Tax Act, late deposited employee PF is permanently added back to your taxable income as penal profit. TaxQue files your ECR by the 10th of every month to prevent all penalties.

Yes. If your establishment has an active EPFO code but zero employees in a given month, you must file a 'Nil' ECR return on the portal to maintain continuous compliance and prevent automated default notices.

Your monthly payroll returns are processed by a dedicated Labor Law & Payroll Specialist and verified by a Chartered Accountant. We reconcile wage registers, calculate exact account-wise splits (A/c 1, 2, 10, 21, 22), and upload text files to the EPFO portal.