{"id":367727,"date":"2026-07-18T18:05:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=367727"},"modified":"2026-07-18T18:05:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:35:46","slug":"vishwas-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/vishwas-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"VISHWAS, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-box-green\">\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> EPFO has launched VISHWAS, 2026, as a one-time dispute resolution initiative for settlement of damages and penalty-related disputes under EPF laws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\">About VISHWAS, 2026<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_367741\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-367741\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-367741\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Source-EPFO-1.jpg?resize=250%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"VISHWAS, 2026\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Source-EPFO-1.jpg?resize=250%2C300&amp;ssl=1 250w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Source-EPFO-1.jpg?w=591&amp;ssl=1 591w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-367741\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; EPFO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>VISHWAS, 2026<\/strong>\u00a0is a <strong>one-time dispute resolution initiative<\/strong> to facilitate amicable <strong>settlement of damages and penalty-related disputes.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Launched by:<\/strong> The <strong>Employees\u2019 Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)<\/strong> under the Ministry of Labour &amp; Employment launched the scheme.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Objective:<\/strong> The scheme aims to <strong>promote voluntary compliance, reduce litigation, enable speedy resolution of long-pending disputes,<\/strong> and <strong>safeguard the interests of employees.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Timeline:<\/strong> The scheme came <strong>into effect on 29 June 2026<\/strong> and will <strong>remain operational for six months from the <\/strong>date of notification.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Four categories:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Cases where <strong>penalty or damages orders are under challenge<\/strong> before a judicial forum.<\/li>\n<li>Final penalty or damages orders <strong>where recovery is pending or partly made, including Recovery Certificate (RRC) cases.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Cases where <strong>notices have been issued but final penalty or damages orders are yet to be passed.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Cases where <strong>notices for penalty or damages are yet to be issued.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Exclusion:<\/strong> The scheme excludes <strong>fully recovered cases<\/strong>, cases <strong>involving fraud<\/strong>, <strong>misappropriation or deliberate falsification of records<\/strong>, and cases where <strong>statutory interest has not been fully deposited.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Key features:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Digital and time-bound process:<\/strong> Eligible employers <strong>can apply online through the EPFO Employer Portal using a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or e-Sign<\/strong> through a transparent, fully digital and time-bound process.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Concessional rates:<\/strong> For <strong>defaults before 14 June 2024,<\/strong> damages or penalty will be <strong>recalculated at 0.25% per month for defaults up to two months<\/strong>, <strong>0.50% per month for defaults from two to less than four months<\/strong>, and <strong>1.00% per month for defaults exceeding four months.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Interest requirement:<\/strong> Employers <strong>must fully deposit the applicable statutory interest before submitting an application.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Undertaking:<\/strong> Applicants <strong>must furnish an undertaking that no further appeal<\/strong> will be pursued for the dispute settled under the scheme.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compliance benefit:<\/strong> The scheme <strong>enables employers to regularise legacy EPF compliance at a significantly lower financial cost<\/strong> while <strong>supporting quicker resolution of long-pending disputes<\/strong> and improved compliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: EPFO has launched VISHWAS, 2026, as a one-time dispute resolution initiative for settlement of damages and penalty-related disputes under EPF laws. About VISHWAS, 2026 VISHWAS, 2026\u00a0is a one-time dispute resolution initiative to facilitate amicable settlement of damages and penalty-related disputes. Launched by: The Employees\u2019 Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) under the Ministry of Labour &amp;&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/vishwas-2026\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">VISHWAS, 2026<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,3127,956,12039],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-367727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-economy","category-schemes-and-programs","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}