SCHEDULE II : MATTERS FOR WHICH PROVISION MAY BE MADE IN A SCHEME

[See section 5(1B)]
1. The employees or class of employees who shall join the Fund, and the conditions under which employees may be exempted from joining the Fund or from making any contribution.
2. The time and manner in which contribution shall be made to the Fund by employers and by, or on behalf of, employees, [whether employed by him directly or by or through contractor)], the contributions which an employee may, if he so desires, make under section 6, and the manner in which such contributions may be recovered.
2A. The manner in which employees’ contribution may be recovered by contractors from employees employed by or through such contractors.]
3. The payment by the employer of such sums of money as may be necessary to meet the cost of administering the Fund and the rate at which and the manner in which the payment shall be made.
4. The constitution of any committee for assisting any Board of Trustees.
5. The opening of regional and other offices of any Board of Trustees.]
6. The manner in which accounts shall be kept, the investment of moneys belonging to the Fund in accordance with any directions issued or conditions specified by the Central Government, the preparation of the budget, the audit of accounts and the submission of reports to the Central Government or to any specified State Government.
7. The conditions under which withdrawals from the Fund may be permitted and any deduction or forfeiture may be made and the maximum amount of such deduction or forfeiture.
8. The fixation by the Central Government in consultation with the board of trustees concerned of the rate of interest payable to members.
9. The form in which an employee shall furnish particulars about himself and his family whenever required.
10. The nomination of a person to receive the amount standing to the credit of a member after his death and the cancellation or variation of such nomination.
11. The registers and records to be maintained with respect to employees and the returns to be furnished by employers 152[or contractors].
12. The form or design of any identity card, token or disc for the purpose of identifying any employee, and for the issue, custody and replacement thereof.
13. The fees to be levied for any of the purposes specified in this Schedule.
14. The contraventions or defaults which shall be punishable under sub-section (2) of section 14.
15. The further powers, if any, which may be exercised by Inspectors.
16. The manner in which accumulations in any existing provident fund shall be transferred to the Fund under section 15, and the mode of valuation of any assets which may be transferred by the employers in this behalf.
17. The conditions under which a member may be permitted to pay premia on life insurance, from the Fund.
18. Any other matter [which is to be provided for in the Scheme or ] which may be necessary or proper for the purpose of implementing the Scheme.]

[SCHEDULE III : MATTERS FOR WHICH PROVISION MAY BE MADE IN THE PENSION SCHEME

[See Section 6A(5)]
1. The employees or class of employees to whom the Pension Scheme shall apply.
2. The time within which the employees who are not members of the 127[Pension] Scheme under section 6A as it stood before the commencement of the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act, 1996 (hereinafter, in this Schedule, referred to as the amending Act) shall opt for the Pension Scheme.
3. The portion of employer’s contribution to the Provident Fund which shall be credited to the Pension Fund and the manner in which it is credited.
4. The minimum qualifying service for being eligible for pension and the manner in which the employees may be granted the benefits of their past service under section 6A as it stood before the commencement of the amending Act.
5. The regulation of the manner in which and the period of service for which no contribution is received.
6. The manner in which employees’ interest will be protected against default in payment of contribution by the employer.
7. The manner in which the accounts of the Pension Fund shall be kept and investment of moneys belonging to Pension Fund to be made subject to such pattern of investment as may be determined by the Central Government.
8. The form in which an employees shall furnish particulars about himself and the members of his family whenever required.
9. The forms, registers and records to be maintained in respect of employees, required for the administration of the Pension Scheme.
10. The scale of pension and pensionary benefits and the conditions relating to grant of such benefits to the employees.
11. The manner in which the exempted establishments have to pay contribution towards the Pension Scheme and the submission of returns relating thereto.
12. The mode of disbursement of pension and arrangements to be entered into with such disbursing agencies as may be specified for the purpose.
13. The manner in which the expenses for administering the Pension Scheme will be met from the income of the Pension Fund.
14. Any other matter which is to be provided for in the Pension Scheme or which may be necessary or proper for the purpose of implementation of the Pension Scheme.]

[SCHEDULE IV: MATTERS TO BE PROVIDED FOR IN THE EMPLOYEES’ DEPOSIT LINKED INSURANCE SCHEME

[See section 6C]
1. The employees or class of employees who shall be covered by the Insurance Scheme.
2. The manner in which the accounts of the Insurance Fund shall be kept and the investment of moneys belonging to the Insurance Fund subject to such pattern of investment as may be determined, by order, by the Central Government.
3. The form in which an employee shall furnish particulars about himself and the members of his family whenever required.
4. The nomination of a person to receive the insurance amount due to the employee after his death and the cancellation or variation of such nomination.
5. The registers and records to be maintained in respect of employees, the form or design of any identity card, token or disc for the purpose of identifying any employee or his nominee or member of his family entitled to receive the insurance amount.
6. 240[The scales of insurance benefits and conditions relating to the grant of such benefits to the employees.]
8. The manner in which the amount due to the nominee or the member of the family of the employee under the Scheme is to be paid including a provision that the amount shall not be paid otherwise than in the form of a deposit in a saving bank account, in the name of such nominee or member of family, in any corresponding new bank specified in the First Schedule to the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (5 of 1970).
9. Any other matter which is to be provided for in the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme or which may be necessary or proper for the purpose of implementing that Scheme.]

EMPLOYEES’ PROVIDENT FUNDS APPELLATE TRIBUNAL (PROCEDURE) RULES, 1997

[Dated 2nd. June, 1997]
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 21 of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (19 of 1952), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules namely: –

1. Short title and commencement

(1) These rules may be called the Employees’ Provident Funds Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1997.
(2) They shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions

In these rules unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) “Act” means the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (19 of 1952);
(b) “agent” means a person duly authorized by a party to present an appeal or a written reply on its behalf, before the Tribunal;
(c) “appellant” means a person or the establishment making an appeal to the Tribunal under section 7-I;
(d) “Form” means a form specified in Appendix;
(e) “legal practitioner” shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Advocates Act, 1961 (25 of 1961);
(f) “legal representative” means a person who in law represents the estate of the deceased;
(g) “Registrar” means the Registrar appointed for the Tribunal and includes any officer to whom the powers and functions of the Registrar may be delegated under these rules;
(h) “Registry” means the Registry of the Tribunal;
(i) “Tribunal” means the Employees’ Provident Funds Appellate Tribunal established under sub-section (1) of section 7(D) of the Act;
(j) The words and expressions used and not defined in these rules but defined in the Act shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act.

3. Language of the Tribunal

The language of the Tribunal shall be English:
PROVIDED that the parties to the proceedings before the Tribunal may file documents drawn up in Hindi, if they so desire:
PROVIDED FURTHER that-
(a) the Tribunal may in its discretion permit the use of Hindi in the proceedings but the final order shall be in English;
(b) the Tribunal hearing the matter, may in its discretion, direct English translation of pleadings and documents to be filed.

4. Procedure for filing appeals

(1) An appeal to the Tribunal shall be presented in Form I by the appellant in person or by an agent or by a duly authorized legal practitioner to the Registrar or any other officer authorized in writing by the Registrar to receive the same or be sent by registered post with acknowledgment due addressed to the Registrar of the Tribunal.
(2) The appeal under sub-rule (1) shall be presented in triplicate in a paper-book form along with one unused file size envelope bearing full address of the respondent.
(3) Where the number of respondents is more than one, as many extra copies of the appeal in paper-book form as there are respondents together with unused file size envelopes bearing the full address of each respondent shall be furnished by the appellant:
PROVIDED that where the number of respondents is more than five, the Registrar may permit the appellant to file the extra copies of the appeal at the time of issue of notice to the respondents.
(4) The appellant may attach to and present with his appeal a receipt slip in Form II which shall be signed by the Registrar or the officer receiving the appeal on behalf of the Registrar in acknowledgment of the receipt of the appeal.

5. Presentation and scrutiny of appeals

(1) The Registrar, or the officer authorized by him under rule 4, shall endorse on every appeal the date on which it is presented or deemed to have been presented under that rule and shall sign the endorsement.
(2) If, on scrutiny, the appeal is found to be in order it shall be duly registered and given a serial number.
(3) If the appeal, on scrutiny, is found to be defective and the defect noticed is formal in nature, the Registrar may allow the party to rectify the same in his presence, and if the said defect is not formal in nature, the Registrar may allow the appellant such time to rectify the defect as he may deem fit.
(4) If the appellant fails to rectify the defect within the time allowed under sub-rule (3), the Registrar may, by order and for reasons to be recorded in writing, decline to register the appeal and inform the appellant accordingly.

6. Place of filing appeals

The appeal shall ordinarily be filed by the appellant with the Registrar of the Tribunal within whose jurisdiction:-
(i) the appellant is residing for the time being, or
(ii) the cause of action has arisen, or
(iii) the respondent or any of the respondents against whom relief is sought, ordinarily resides.

7. Fee, time for filing appeal, deposit of amount due on filing appeal

(1) Every appeal filed with the Registrar shall be accompanied by a fee of rupees two hundred to be remitted either in the form of crossed demand draft on a nationalized bank in favor of the Registrar of the Tribunal and payable at the main branch of that bank at the station where the seat of the said Tribunal is situated, or remitted through a crossed Indian Postal Order drawn in favor of the Registrar of the Tribunal and payable at the post office of the station where the said Tribunal is situate.
(2) Any person aggrieved by a notification issued by the Central Government or an order passed by the Central Government or any other authority under the Act, may within 60 days from the date of issue of the notification/ order, prefer an appeal to the Tribunal:
PROVIDED that the Tribunal may, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the appeal within the prescribed period, extend the said period by a further period of 60 days:
PROVIDED FURTHER that no appeal by the employer shall be entertained by a Tribunal unless he has deposited with the Tribunal 75% of the amount due from him as determined under section 7A:
PROVIDED ALSO that the Tribunal may for reasons to be recorded in writing, waive or reduce the amount to be deposited under section 7-O.