Inter-agency data sharing is key to formalising social security compliance. Illustrate with recent EPFO initiatives.

Formalising social security compliance means bringing every employer and every pool of workers' savings under statutory oversight. No single agency sees the whole picture, so data held by one becomes another's enforcement tool. EPFO's 2026 drive to regularise PF Trusts shows this well [1].

Why inter-agency data matters

• Regulatory blind spots: Many in-house PF Trusts held Income Tax Act, 1961 recognition but had no exemption order under Section 17, EPF&MP Act, 1952 or Section 143, Code on Social Security (CoSS), 2020. They were visible to the tax authority but not to the labour regulator [1].
• Unknown universe: The Standing Committee on Labour (2018) found that India has no central regulator for PF trusts. It even asked the Ministry to collect data on how many trusts exist under the 1925 Act [2].

EPFO initiatives illustrating data sharing

• EPFO–Income Tax data sharing: Under the Amnesty Scheme, 2026, EPFO set up data sharing with the Department of Revenue to find PF Trusts that were not notified or not compliant [1].
• Tax status as a compliance lever: The 239th CBT meeting approved a one-time amnesty for tax-recognised trusts not covered or exempted under the 1952 Act, with reference to the Finance Act, 2026 [3]. Trusts that regularise keep their income-tax benefits [1].
• Private intermediaries as data channels: CII, ICAI and BSE, along with chartered accountants and statutory auditors, were used to find and assist qualifying trusts [1].
• Digital exemption workflows: The 239th CBT also approved a single simplified exemption SOP with an end-to-end digital process for surrender and transfer of past savings [3]. Earlier, 27 establishments surrendered exemption in two years, adding about 30,000 employees and Rs 1,688.82 crore to EPFO [4].

Limitations

• Narrow coverage: Only tax-recognised trusts can apply. Trusts with neither recognition stay invisible to both datasets [1].
• Slow take-up: EPFO had to push for applications with less than three months of the window left [1].
• No single regulator yet: Fragmented oversight still limits how useful the shared data can be [2].

The Amnesty shows how tax records can be turned into labour-law enforcement. After 28 December 2026, EPFO should match Income Tax records against amnesty applications to target trusts that did not apply [1]. It should also audit new entrants closely and move towards the single regulator the 2018 Committee recommended [2]. Making data sharing institutional rather than episodic would advance CoSS's aim of universal social security and SDG 8's goal of decent work.