VISHWAS 2026 lets an employer settle damages for provident fund paid late before 14 June 2024 at today's lower rates: 0.25% to 1% of the arrears a month, instead of up to 25% a year. It covers cases in litigation, unpaid orders, pending notices and defaults not yet noticed. The employer must pay the interest in full first and give up any appeal. It runs for six months from 29 June 2026.
What it is, and how long it runs
It is a one-time settlement window for PF damages, written into the EPF Scheme 2026, and it closes at the end of December 2026 unless extended. The provisions sit in part B of the Annexure to the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme 2026 (G.S.R. 525(E), 29 June 2026). They remain valid for six months from the Scheme's notification, and the Central Provident Fund Commissioner can extend them by up to six months more for recorded reasons (Annexure B(2)–(3)). The EPFO's announcements give the start as 29 June 2026 (PIB, 15 and 17 July 2026) [VERIFY: the exact closing date, and whether any extension has been ordered].
It is about damages only. Damages are the penalty levied for paying contributions late, under section 14B of the old EPF Act or section 128 of the Code on Social Security 2020. The EPFO's release is explicit that the contributions themselves and the interest on them are not waived.
Which cases it covers
Any damages case about a default before 14 June 2024 qualifies, at any stage, unless the damages are already fully paid. Annexure B(4)–(6) sets the scope, and the EPFO's releases add the exclusions:
| Stage of the case | Covered? |
|---|---|
| Damages order under challenge before the CGIT, a High Court or the Supreme Court | Yes (B(5)(a)); the appeal abates once the revised damages are paid (B(8)) |
| Damages order issued, amount unpaid or partly paid, including recovery-certificate cases | Yes (B(5)(b)) |
| Notice issued, final order not yet passed | Yes (B(5)(c)) |
| Default identifiable, but no notice issued yet | Yes (B(5)(d)) |
| Damages already deposited in full | No (B(6)) |
| Fraud, misappropriation or deliberate falsification of records | No, per the EPFO's release of 17 July 2026 |
| Interest for the default period not fully paid | Not until it is (B(9)(a)) |
How much it saves
Roughly half, for anything paid more than six months late. Before 14 June 2024, paragraph 32A of the 1952 Scheme charged damages at an annual rate set by the length of the delay: 5% for under two months, 10% for two to four, 15% for four to six, and 25% for six months or more. VISHWAS replaces that with the monthly scale in paragraph 23 of the 2026 Scheme: 0.25% a month for under two months, 0.5% for two to four, and 1% beyond four, never more than the arrears (B(7)).
| Delay on ₹1,00,000 of contributions | Old scale (para 32A, 1952 Scheme) | VISHWAS 2026 (para 23, 2026 Scheme) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 5% a year: ₹417 | 0.25% a month: ₹250 |
| 3 months | 10% a year: ₹2,500 | 0.5% a month: ₹1,500 |
| 5 months | 15% a year: ₹6,250 | 1% a month: ₹5,000 |
| 12 months | 25% a year: ₹25,000 | 1% a month: ₹12,000 |
| 36 months | 25% a year: ₹75,000 | 1% a month: ₹36,000 |
The figures are illustrations that apply each rate across the whole period of delay [VERIFY: the EPFO's computation method under its operational guidelines, B(11)]. The saving grows with the delay, which is why the long-running disputes are the ones the window is aimed at.
What it takes to apply
Pay the interest, apply online, then pay the revised figure once it is sent. The conditions come from the Annexure and the EPFO's releases:
- Pay all the interest first. The interest under section 7Q of the old Act or section 127 of the Code for the default period must be fully remitted before applying (B(9)(a)). This is the condition most cases stall on.
- Apply on the EPFO employer portal in the VISHWAS module, signed with a Digital Signature Certificate or e-Sign of the authorised signatory (PIB, 15 and 17 July 2026).
- Pay the revised damages within 15 days of the regional office communicating them, per the EPFO's release of 15 July 2026. A certificate follows, which can be filed before the court or tribunal to close a pending case.
- Give up the appeal. The employer undertakes not to appeal further (B(9)(b)), and any pending appeal abates on payment (B(8)).
Money already paid is handled by fixed rules. Part-payments above the revised figure are not refunded, and part-payments below it leave the difference to pay (B(10)(a)). An appeal pre-deposit counts towards the revised figure, and any excess is adjusted against other damages orders for later periods (B(10)(b)).
Where contract labour fits
Many of these cases sit on the principal employer's code because of a contractor's late payments. Where a contractor was not independently registered, its workers' contributions ran through the site's code, so a contractor's delay became the site's damages [VERIFY: paragraph 30 of the 1952 Scheme for pre-2026 periods]. Under the 2026 Scheme, paragraph 20(4) keeps the principal employer responsible for contract workers' contributions either way.
- List every damages notice and order on the site's code for periods before 14 June 2024, with its stage from the table above.
- Check the interest position on each. A case with unpaid interest cannot enter the window until the interest is cleared.
- Separate contractor-caused defaults. Whether the site can recover the settled damages from the contractor depends on the contract, not on VISHWAS.
Withdrawing an appeal in exchange for lower damages is a legal decision with no way back, and it belongs with the site's own counsel.
How Velura Services helps
Our monthly evidence pack shows each contractor's ECR and challan dates beside the PF due date, so a late remittance is seen in the month it happens, not years later as a damages notice. Where old notices exist, our payroll team pulls together the remittance history and interest workings the site's advisers need to decide on a VISHWAS application.
Sources
- Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026, G.S.R. 525(E) dated 29 June 2026, mirrored copy of the Gazette. Annexure B (VISHWAS, 2026), sub-paragraphs (1)–(11); paragraph 23 (damages at 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% of arrears a month, capped at the arrears; applied from 14 June 2024); paragraph 20(4). Opened and read [VERIFY: against the e-Gazette original].
- PIB Thiruvananthapuram, "Central Government announces 'Vishwas 2026' scheme to settle EPF damages at lower rates", 15 July 2026. Eligible categories, exclusions, interest as a precondition, the employer portal and DSC or e-Sign, payment of the revised amount within 15 days of communication, and the closing certificate. Opened and read.
- PIB, "EPFO Launches 'VISHWAS, 2026' for Amicable Settlement of Damages/Penalty-Related Disputes", 17 July 2026. In force from 29 June 2026 for six months; rates of 0.25%, 0.50% and 1.00% a month for defaults before 14 June 2024; damages only, no waiver of contributions or interest; exclusions. Opened and read.
- Employees' Provident Funds (Amendment) Scheme, 2024, G.S.R. 329(E) dated 14 June 2024, substituting paragraph 32A(1) of the 1952 Scheme. The earlier annual rates of 5%, 10%, 15% and 25% are taken from published summaries of the amendment [VERIFY: Gazette text not opened].