Celebrating the 73rd Foundation Day celebrations of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, launched the Employees’ Enrolment Scheme – 2025.
The Employees’ Enrolment Scheme – 2025 provides a special window for employers to voluntarily enrol eligible employees who were left out of EPF coverage between 1st July 2017 and 31st October 2025. It also provides the opportunity to regularise their past compliance under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
The new scheme aims to promote voluntary compliance and extend social security coverage to all eligible employees. It also hopes to encourage transparency, ensure universal EPF inclusion, and simplify the process of past regularisation.
“EPFO is not merely a fund. It represents the trust of India’s workforce in social security,” Dr Mandaviya emphasises, highlighting the importance of efficiency, transparency, and empathy in driving EPFO transformation. “Every reform must reach workers in clear and simple terms so that the impact of change is felt directly in their lives.”
The scheme will remain open for six months, from 1st November 2025 to 30th April 2026. All establishments, regardless of their existing EPF coverage status, can now declare any employee engaged by them who joined between 1st July 2017 and 31st October 2025, through the EPFO portal.
For such employees, the employee’s share has been waived for the declared period, if not deducted earlier. The employer’s obligation is limited to remitting the employer’s share, interest (Sec 7Q), administrative charges, and the ₹100 penal damages. A lump-sum penalty of ₹100 per establishment will be deemed compliance across the three EPF schemes.
Through this scheme, the Indian government hopes to facilitate wider EPF coverage and formalisation of the workforce through a simplified path for employers to regularise past omissions. It is also a step towards strengthening the goal of “Social Security for All” and ensuring that every worker is part of India’s organised social safety network.
Central Provident Fund Commissioner Ramesh Krishnamurthi also shared light on the soon-to-be-released EPFO 3.0 platform.
“The upcoming EPFO 3.0 platform will further improve efficiency and accessibility, while new initiatives such as simplified withdrawal categories and the Viswas Scheme have eased compliance for employers,” said Krishnamurthi. He also emphasised that EPFO’s focus remains on strengthening trust, expanding coverage, and ensuring that every worker experiences EPFO as a partner in progress.
