New rules for ATMs, pensioners from May 1: Here’s all you need to know

Many rules including those for ATMs and pensioners are going to change from May 1. 

Here are some of the new rules:

Pensioners will get full pension

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will start giving out full pensions from May to those who opted for commutation at the time of retirement. A commutation is an option given to pensioners to convert a part of their monthly pension into an upfront lump sum payment at the time of their retirement.

The full pension is restored after some time, 15 years in this case. The government, in February, had notified the restoration.

The move will benefit 630,000 pensioners every month and will cost the government ₹1,500 crore at a time when it is facing a crunch due to the coronavirus outbreak and the related nationwide lockdown.

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The retirement fund body has also allowed employers to file monthly provident fund (PF) returns without making simultaneous payment of dues, giving a relief to about 6 lakh firms amid lockdown to combat the Covid-19 crisis.

The employers are currently required to file PF returns and make payment of dues simultaneously.

The PF returns have details about employees’ and employers’ contributions towards the social security scheme run by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

Keeping in view the situation and to further ease the compliance procedure under the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, the filing of monthly electronic challan-cum-return (ECR) is separated from payment of the statutory contributions reported in the ECR, it said.

ECR can now be filed by an employer without any need of simultaneous payment of contributions and contributions may be paid later by the employer after filing the ECR, it added.

The change will entail convenience to the employers as well as the employees covered under the Act.

Filing of ECR by the employer in time is indicative of the employer’s intent to comply with norms and will not therefore attract penal consequences if the dues are paid within the extended time as announced by the government.

Filing of ECR in time shall help in credit of employer’s and employee’s share of contributions, totalling 24% of wages by the central government, to EPF accounts of low-wage earners in establishments eligible under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana package.

In April, the EPFO extended the deadline for filing ECR and making payment of PF dues for the month of March till May 15. ECR and PF dues payments for March were due on April 15. Thereafter, the employers were to get 10 days’ grace period for compliance till April 25.

ATM rules

A new system will be put in place for ATMs to prevent coronavirus infection. According to the new rule, an ATM will be cleaned to make it infection-free after every use. It has been started in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad and Tamil Nadu’s Chennai. In a hotspot, now the municipal corporation will sanitise an ATM twice a day. If sanitation rules are not followed, the ATM chamber will be sealed.