The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has invited applications from exempted Provident Fund Trusts for regularisation under a one-time scheme. The notice connects the exercise to the Finance Act, 2026, the Income Tax Act, 2025, and the Code on Social Security.
The development matters because Provident Fund exemption and regularisation are part of India’s statutory social-security framework. For UPSC, the subject links labour welfare, institutional compliance, and the transition from legacy exemption systems to a more formal regulatory regime.
What the notice says
The notice says exempted Provident Fund Trusts can apply to regularise their status under specified provisions. It describes the scheme as a one-time opportunity for Trusts recognised under the Income Tax Act, 1961 to regularise their status.
The notice also says recognition under the Income Tax Act, 2025 is available only to Provident Funds that have obtained exemption under Section 17 of the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
The scheme is said to apply to establishments that do not already have formal exemption from the government.