The EPF stands for Employees Provident Fund, GPF stands for General Provident Fund, and the PPF stands for Public Provident Fund. All these provident funds are the saving schemes categorically divided according to its name. The GPF is available for the government employees on contrary to that EPF is available to employees working in private companies. Whereas PPF is available to everyone whether the person is employed or unemployed or can be self-employed. Here below is briefly discussed about the main differences between these three funds.
| CRITERIA | EPF | GPF | PPF |
| ELIGIBILITY | Organised/Private Sector | For Government employees | To all Indians above 18 years of age |
| MATURITY TIME | At the age of 58 years | After the retirement of an employee | For the term of 15 years |
| INTEREST RATES | 8.65% | 8% (in 2019-20) | 8% (in 2019-20) |
| PREMATURE PERIOD | As soon after two months of leaving service. | After leaving government service | After five years on valid grounds like medical or education grounds |
Importance of EPF, GPF and PPF
All type of provident fund is a scheme designed for saving purposes. These funds can be obtained at the time of the retirement or after retirement, which provides stability to the employee at the end of the service. EPF and GPF provide financial security to the employees to build a reliable retirement. The PPF is important for the people who are self-employed and use that fund at the time of financial need. The investment made in any of the provident funds is always less risky as because of the statutory or the government backing up in these schemes.
EPF Registration Procedure
- First, register the organization in the EPFO Portal. It will appear as Establishment Registration
- The read the instruction manual as provided for user before starting to the registration process
- Employer requires to get DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) for registration the fresh application to be filled for Online EPF registration. The UAN (Universal Account Number) is generated
- Fill the employer details after clicking on register button
- Fill first name, employer PAN number, user name, mobile PIN and activate email-link.
Documents required for EPF Registration
- PAN card
- ID proof
- Address Proof
- GST registration certificate
- Sale bill and purchase bill
- Banking Details
- Salary and PF account details
- Cross cancelled Cheque
Online Process for filing EPF return through EPFO portal
- By using ECR portal credentials login to EPFO portal, the details such as Name, Exemption Status (PF, Pension), Establishment ID, and Establishment Address will appear.
- To upload ECR, click to Payments tab and upload ECR
- Next, after ECR File is uploaded, go to ‘ECR Help File’ and view ECR file format
- To upload the ECR, fill Salary Disbursal Date and Wage Month.
- Select ECR file which has to be uploaded.
- Fill the rest fields like File Type (Select ECR), Contribution Rate % (Default value is 12%), add a comment and upload
- After the file will be validated by the portal. Once validation is successful, am message regarding validation successful will be received.
- Generate TRRN (Temporary Return Reference Number) after selecting verify button
- Select on ‘Prepare Challan’ for generating ECR summary sheet
- Then click on ‘Generate Challan’ Button.
- Select the Final icon after reviewing the Total Amount, under Draft Challan List.
- The finalized ECR (Electronic Challan-cum-Receipt) will be displayed
- Select the Pay option to make the payment
- Proceed to payment by selecting mode as Online and then click to Continue for completing the payment this will navigate you to payment gateway.
Difference between PPF GPF and EPF
Eligibility
- PPF is available to salary, self-employed or not employed people. They cover the people of any age who has attained the age of 18 years. The business persons can invest in the PPF for the short term and renew it from time to time.
- EPF is available to the person who receives a salary from the organised sector. The contributions made in EPF funds are important for both the employer and the employee. In some company in which the government has its shares also contributes to the EPF funds.
- GPF, on the other hand, is only available to the government employees. The employees are entitled to receive the fund amount after the end of the service term.
Maturity Period
- PPF reach to its maturity time after the 15 years from the date of the opening of the PPF account.
- EPF gets mature when the employee reaches the age of 58 years or when he ends its service in the organised sector. After two months from the termination or resignation, the employee is liable to withdraw the EPF funds.
- GPF gets its maturity after the retirement of the employee from the service or in case of superannuation of the employee.
Interest Rate
- The government pays interest both in the case of PPF and GPF. The current interest rate for 2019-20 is 8%.
- In the case of EPF interest rate depends upon the returns generated on the EPF account. The current interest rate is 8.65%.
Tax Benefits
- Section 80C of the Income-tax Act provides a tax deduction to all three funds that are PPF, GPF and EPF. The returns received, contributions made and interest earned on such schemes are exempt from tax under the Income Tax Act[1].
Loan Facilities
- Loan against the PPF fund[2] can be obtained in the 3rd and 6th financial year of the opening of the account. The loan can be granted up to 25% of the amount as deposited in the PPF account.
- The employee can obtain loan up to 50% of the amount deposited in the EPF account for marriage and education after seven years of service whereas for the home loan he can get up to 90% of the deposited amount after the ten years of the service.
- The government employee can avail the loan against the GPF fund anytime during his service period.
Summary
Concluding the above, the main difference regarding these three are: GPF is a provident fund account which is for the government employees, and the employees contribute some percentage of amount from their salary to the fund account. Whereas the PPF is a provident fund which is long term investment gives returns and interest that is free from taxes. It is backed up by the government, and one can get the loan against this account very easily. Last but not the least the EPF is also a provident fund where the employee also contributes to the portion of their salary to the account which is up to 12% of the basic pay in every month.
Final thoughts
The Corpbiz has a team of expert professionals such as CA, CS and lawyers who can guide you regarding the facilities available in relation provident funds such as loan facility, tax benefits etc. and where one can invest the amount of these funds after the maturity period.
Read our article:How to apply for EPF Registration online?
