Maharashtra Minimum wages have been revised for Shops from 1st July 2017 to 31st Dec 2017.  For more details, view the official notification here.

As the Field Offices are receiving requests from the employers to modify the ECRs,  the EPFO has come up with solutions for their respective issues:

1. Issue of Incorrect month or year was mentioned in ECR- In the EPFO application, ECR Revision has been provided to revise ECRs where month and year needs to be changed. This can be done only if there is no settlement and no PMRPY beneficiary exists. 
2. Incorrect UAN mentioned in ECR/Double TRRN for the same month- The EPFO has provided Application Version 5.36 for the PF field offices to reject ECRs or adjust amount or refund the amount to the employer.
3. Double Payment made by employer for same month using different TRRN- The EPFO has stated that the Unified Portal has already taken steps to refund the amount to the employer directly to their bank account.
4. Double Payment paid by employer against same TRRN and wants to get refund- The EPFO has stated that the Unified Portal has already taken steps to refund the amount to the employer directly to their bank account.
5. To refund the amount against amount paid in misc. option- The EPFO has stated that currently misc. payments and receipts are being managed by the PF field offices, manually. Hence, the PF field offices may refund the amount to the employer after verifying the details by preparing a cheque. Against this cheque, misc. payment entry in the application software may be made. In the future, PF Field office may also opt to adjust the amount against the future TRRN using Establishment VDR.

For more details, view the official notification here.

The PF Department has been asking members to obtain Aadhaar number vide various circulars for the last three years now. They took a firmer step starting 1st July 2017, when the PF Department blocked submission of entries for those employees joined in July 2017 on their system if Aadhaar number is not mentioned (to view the official notification, click here).

The error  (and in some cases ECR rejection) is primarily due to mismatch between details entered for UAN generation and those available in the Aadhar database. Unlike PAN-Aadhaar linking, where in case of any minor mismatch in Aadhaar name provided, Aadhaar OTP was useful in creating the linkage; the details have to be an exact match for the PF UAN-Aadhar link, else errors will result. It is hence advised that you obtain a copy of the employees’ Aadhar card and use that to enter details when creating the UAN.

Additionally, per advice* received from various experts and practitioners, it is recommended that you complete the ECR submission for at least those members where there are no errors. The PF contributions of remaining members i.e. those that joined in July 2017 and don’t have Aadhaar, can be taken up as and when they obtain Aadhaar number. Alternatively, take it up as arrears in the next month of August 2017 payable in September 2017.

* This should not be considered as legal advice, please check with a PF consultant on associated legalities, if any