Assembly nod to EPF bill

SRINAGAR, Oct 4:
A bill to raise EPF contribution by employers and increase the threshold limit of employees in an establishment from 5 to 10 to draw benefits was passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly today.
The J & K Employees Provident Funds (and miscellaneous provisions) Amendment Bill was passed by voice vote after PDP member Choudhary Zulfikar Ali withdrew his amendment.
The amendments were based on the recommendations of a high-level committee that the threshold limit of number of employees in an establishment for coverage under the EPF Scheme be raised from 5 to 10 prospectively.
The committee, constituted in October last year, also suggested that establishments covered at present and having employees less than 10, will continue to be within the ambit of the scheme in respect of employees already covered.
It also recommended that the rate of contribution of the employers’ be increased from 8.33 per cent to 12 per cent. (PTI)