UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Centre brings new scheme to regularise PF Trusts

Q1. Which of the following are correctly identified as features or eligible beneficiary classes of the EPFO's Amnesty Scheme, 2026?

  1. Establishments running a provident fund trust recognised under the Income Tax Act, 1961 but lacking a formal Central or State exemption notification
  2. Trusts that have already extended benefits equal to or better than the statutory scheme, which receive a waiver of damages, interest and penalties
  3. Grant of retrospective relaxation or exemption subject to specified conditions
  4. Only Central Public Sector Undertakings maintaining provident fund trusts
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q2. Under the new income-tax framework welcomed by the EPFO, recognition of a provident fund under the Income Tax Act, 2025 is now available only to a fund that has obtained exemption under which one of the following?

  • A. Section 17 of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
  • B. Paragraph 27AA of the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952
  • C. Section 14B of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
  • D. Section 1(4) of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

Q3. How many distinct routes or categories of regularisation are offered to eligible trusts under the EPFO's Amnesty Scheme, 2026?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Five

Q4. In the context of the EPF & MP Act, 1952, the term 'exempted establishment' is best defined as an establishment which

  • A. is exempted from the operation of the EPF Scheme and runs its own provident fund trust, its employees enjoying benefits on the whole not less favourable than the statutory benefits
  • B. is exempted from making any provident fund contribution for its employees on account of its wage bill falling below the statutory threshold
  • C. employs fewer than twenty persons and therefore lies outside the coverage of the Act altogether
  • D. is exempted from income tax on the interest accruing to its employees' provident fund accumulations

Q5. The Amnesty Scheme, 2026 for regularisation of provident fund trusts is operationalised by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, which functions under which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Labour and Employment
  • B. Ministry of Finance
  • C. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • D. Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Q6. Consider the following in relation to the reliefs and features of the EPFO's Amnesty Scheme, 2026. Which of the above is NOT correctly stated?

  1. Waiver of damages, interest and penalties for trusts that already provided benefits equal to or better than the statutory scheme
  2. Retrospective regularisation of exemption status subject to specified conditions
  3. A time-bound compliance window of six months
  4. A guaranteed rate of return of 9.5 per cent to be credited by every regularised trust to its members
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4

Q7. The Amnesty Scheme, 2026 for income tax-recognised provident fund trusts was approved by which one of the following, being the apex decision-making body of the EPFO?

  • A. The Central Board of Trustees, EPF
  • B. The Central Board of Direct Taxes
  • C. The Central Provident Fund Commissioner
  • D. The National Social Security Board