Important Hints for Registration for EPF & ETF Contribution

Registration with the Department of labor is a must in order to obtain an EPF (registration) number for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). The fund is a government body, regulated under the central bank of Sri Lanka. No separate registration is needed to register with the Employees Trust Fund (ETF). Registration with the EPF automatically registers a company with the ETF too. The same number is used for making/accumulating monthly contributions.

An employee is entitled to membership at the EPF/ETF from the day of his or her appointment. It is a legal responsibility of the employer to enroll employees to the EPF fund on the flip side; employees are also responsible to talk to their employers to do so.

Irrespective of the nature of employment, all employees should be enrolled, regardless of whether they are permanent, temporary, apprentice, casual, or shift workers.

All forms of employment, whatever the basis is be it piece rate, contract, commission, work performed, each and every form of employee is eligible for the membership.

In addition to the retirement benefits, EPF facilitates members to obtain loans for housing purposes from five approved lending institutions by pledging the balances lying to the credit of their member accounts with EPF. Further as provided in the EPF (Amendment) Act, No 02 of 2012, members who have service of more than 10 years and EPF account balance of more than Rs 300,000 are entitled to withdraw up to 30 per cent of the amount lying to the credit in their members accounts with EPF for the purpose of house construction or medical treatment with effect from 2015.