LEH: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Regional Office Ladakh, has launched the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign (EEC), 2026, providing a time-bound opportunity to employers across Leh, Kargil and the newly created districts of the Union Territory to regularise pending EPF compliance and bring eligible workers under statutory social security coverage.
Notified by the Union Ministry of Labour & Employment through Notification No. G.S.R. 525(E), the campaign will remain operational from July 1 to October 31, 2026. The initiative covers establishments that are already covered, or are coverable, under the EPF & MP Act, 1952 or the Code on Social Security.
The campaign is aimed particularly at employers who have employees left out of EPF coverage during the period April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2026, offering substantial financial relief and simplified compliance provisions for declaring such employees.
A major incentive under EEC-2026 is that where the employee’s share of EPF contribution was not deducted from wages during the period for which the employee remained outside coverage, the employee contribution will be completely waived.
Employers will instead be required to deposit the applicable employer’s share of contribution, interest under Section 7Q of the EPF & MP Act or the corresponding provision under the Code on Social Security, administrative charges, and a lump-sum damage of only Rs100 per defaulting establishment across all three schemes.
The scheme also provides relief to establishments currently facing quasi-judicial proceedings under the repealed EPF & MP Act, 1952 or the Code on Social Security, 2020. Such establishments can participate in the campaign, with damages restricted to the nominal Rs100 lump-sum amount for the declaration period.
However, the declaration is limited to employees who are alive and actively working in the establishment on the date of declaration. Employees who have already exited the establishment are not eligible, and EPFO will not initiate suo-motu proceedings in respect of employees who exited before the declaration.
The campaign could also provide an additional employment-linked incentive to participating establishments, as employers registering afresh or declaring employees under EEC-2026 may avail benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY), subject to the applicable terms and conditions of the scheme.
EPFO has prescribed an entirely online process for registration and submission of returns under the campaign. Employers are required to first generate Universal Account Numbers (UANs) for declared employees through face authentication using the UMANG App.
Thereafter, employers have to access the EPFO Employer Portal and select the EEC-2026 module, enter the requisite employee and employment details, and link the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) with a Temporary Return Reference Number (TRRN).
Following this, the EEC challan has to be generated and the prescribed payment remitted. The final declaration is to be submitted after authentication through Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or eSign.
The EPFO Regional Office, Ladakh, has urged employers, employer associations, chambers of commerce and all covered establishments across the UT to make full use of the four-month window, describing the campaign as an opportunity to resolve past compliance liabilities while extending statutory provident fund and social security protection to eligible workers.
The organisation has also advised establishments not to wait until the final deadline and to initiate the enrolment and declaration process at the earliest to ensure timely compliance.
Detailed instructions and relevant circulars are available on the official EPFO website under Serial No. 67 of the ‘Office Order/Circular’ section. Employers requiring assistance can also approach the concerned EPFO Field Offices or the Zonal Office for guidance.
With Ladakh witnessing the creation of new administrative districts and expansion of economic and commercial activity, the campaign assumes added significance as it seeks to widen formal social security coverage while providing employers a limited window to settle legacy compliance issues on substantially relaxed financial terms.
