Practical Guide for fresh Service Tax Registration

EPFO’S Withdraws Grace Period of 5 Days for Depositing the Dues from February, 2016

Labour Laws- Removal of 5 days grace period for deposit of monthly contribution from Feb.

Employees Provident Fund Organisation(EPFO) has remove grace period of 5 days for depositing the
dues with effect from February, 2016. EPFO has earlier issued a circular on 8th January, 2016 to this effect. In a communication to employers, EPFO has informed that the dues for the month of Jan, 2016 are to be paid by 15th February 2016. 

In view of availability of technological tools to the employers, the concession of 5 days has outlived its basic purpose and utility. Accordingly, the concession of grace period of 5 days available to the employers for depositing the contribution and other dues has been withdrawn. 

Employers are required to pay the contributions and administrative charges within 15 days of close of every month as per the provisions of EPF & MP Act 1952 under three Schemes namely Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme (EPFS), 1952, Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 and Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLIS), 1976. A grace period of 5 days was also allowed in addition to the statutory provisions. 

This grace period of 5 days was allowed in view of the practice of manual processing of calculation of wages and dues of the employees at the end of Employers. The remittances of the dues in the bank also required additional time in the manual setup. 

Recent technological advancement, have empowered employers to compute the wages and liabilities through aid of computers. Facility now exists to file Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) and remittance of dues through Internet Banking. This has substantially reduced the process and time taken in calculation of PF dues and its remittances in the bank. 

The concession of 5 days has outlived its basic purpose and utility. Accordingly, the concession of grace period of 5 days available to the employers for depositing the contribution & other dues is withdrawn. 

This shall apply from February, 2016 for depositing contributions for the month of January, 2016 that is payable in the month of February, 2016.The employers will therefore need to deposit the remittances within 15 days of close of every month from February, 2016. 

Govt hikes wage ceiling for bonus to Rs 21,000 per month from Rs 10,000

MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE

(Legislative Department)

New Delhi, the 1st January, 2016/Pausha 11, 1937 (Saka)

The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 31st December, 2015, and is hereby published for general information:—

THE PAYMENT OF BONUS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2015

NO. 6 OF 2016

[31st December, 2015.]

An Act further to amend the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

Short title and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be called the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015.

(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of April, 2014.

Amendment in section 2

2. In section 2 of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in clause (13), for the words ‘‘ten thousand rupees’’, the words ‘‘twenty-one thousand rupees’’ shall be substituted.

Amendment in section 12

3. In section 12 of the principal Act,—

(i) for the words ‘‘three thousand and five hundred rupees’’ at both the places where they occur, the words ‘‘seven thousand rupees or the minimum wage for the scheduled employment, as fixed by the appropriate Government, whichever is higher’’ shall respectively be substituted;

(ii) the following Explanation shall be inserted at the end, namely:—

‘Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the expression ‘‘scheduled employment’’ shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (g) of section 2 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.’

Amendment in section 38

 4. In section 38 of the principal Act, for sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—

‘‘(1) The Central Government may, subject to the condition of previous publication, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.’’.