India: EPFO Clarifies That Singapore Citizens Covered Under CECA Are Not Required to Contribute to Social Security Schemes

Insights from Global Mobility

India: EPFO clarifies that Singapore citizens covered under CECA are not required to contribute to social security schemes

March 17, 2017

In brief The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has recently issued an internal directive to its field officers to treat Singapore citizens as excluded employees with respect to contributions to Indian social security schemes. This is the case provided such citizens are covered under the India-Singapore bilateral comprehensive economic agreement (CECA) and are contributing to the social security system of Singapore.

In detail therefore, Singapore citizens The takeaway ‘Excluded employees’ who are working in India as ‘temporary workers’ qualify as The directives issued by the The definition of ‘excluded excluded employees and are not EPFO are a welcome step. There employee’ was amended in May required to contribute to social may be international workers 2012 to cover international security schemes in India, from Singapore who, though workers coming from a country provided they are contributing they qualified as excluded with which India has entered to the social security system in employees, contributed to into a CECA prior to October 1, Singapore. Indian social security schemes 2008, provided that the CECA in the past on the insistence of contains a clause on social However, in the absence of clear the field officers. With these security. Accordingly, such guidelines, field officers were clarifications, such international international workers are not taking due cognizance of the workers may not contribute in excluded from contributing to provisions relating to excluded the future to Indian social the Indian social security employees, and were insisting security schemes, but it is not schemes, provided they are that these employees and their clear what should happen to contributing to their home employer in India contribute to their past accumulated country social security system as Indian social security schemes. contributions and whether such either a citizen or resident of the employees would be able to home country. The EPFO has now issued withdraw the accumulated internal directives to its field balance immediately or on a CECA with Singapore officers to not insist such later date. A clarification in this The CECA between India and employees contribute to Indian regard would be useful for such Singapore has been effective social security schemes. employees. from August 1, 2005, and

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Kuldip Kumar Ravi Jain Sundeep Agarwal +91 (124) 616 9609 +91 (80) 4079 6024 +91 22 6119 8438 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

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