twrare0te Indian Ralways INDIAN RAILWAY ESTABLISHMENT CODE (Vol - I) Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Provident Fund Rules 901. Short Provident Fund Rules. le and extent of application. — The rules in this chapter may be called the State Railway This will apply to all railway servants both pensionable and non-pensionable, provided no government contribution and special contribution will be credited to the account of the subscriber who are pensionable, but shall not apply to (employees taken over from the ex-Company Railways who have not opted for both C.P.C. Leave Rules and C.P.C. scales of pay. (ii) non-pensionable employees taken over from the ex-State Railways who opted to be governed by the ex-State Railways scales of pay applicable to them and on promotion also elected to retain ex-States Railways scales of pay, and (li) pensionable railway servants of ex-States Railways with more than three years service at the time of taking over (iv) Railway servants entering into service on or after Ist January, 2004 (Ministry of Rallway@s letter No. F(E)II/2003/PFV3 dated 31.12.03) 902. Definitions.— In these rules, unless, there is anything repugnant in the subject or context= (1) @Accounts Officer@ means the Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officers of a railway or such other officer as may be appointed in this behalf by the Railway Board, (2) "Children" means legitimate children and step-children, It shall also include adopted children, (@) for the purpose of payment of Provident Fund excluding special contribution, only if the Accounts Officer is satisfied after obtaining such legal advice as he may consider necessary that under the personal law of the subscriber, adoption is legally recognised as conferring the status of a natural child; and (b) for the purpose of payment of special contribution to the provident fund, at the discretion of the General Manager, according to the circumstances of each case irrespective of whether the adoption was valid under the personal law of the subscriber having regard to his religion or not (3) “Controlling Officer” means in relation to the classes of subscribers specified in the first column of the table below, the officer or authority specified in the corresponding entry in the second column thereof, Classes of Subscribers Controlling Officer 7, Subscribers under the Administrations control of a | The General Manager. General Manager. 2. Subscriber employed in a department or office, project | The head of the department or factory directly under the control of the Railway Ministry. | office, project or factory. ipikwww indanralways.qov ivalwayboardluploads\codetmarualet-code-Vesbi-vel-chap-901-p24Nim#o01 119twrare0te Indian Ralways 3, Subscribers not above the rank of Section Officers of the Railway Ministry. The Secretary, Railway Board. 4. Head of departments or Officers directly under the | The Railway Board. control of the Railway Ministry and General Manager and Officers above the rank of Section Officers employed in the Office of Railway Ministry. 5. Railway servants employed in the Railway Audit | The additional Deputy Department, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (Railways) Railway Ministry's decision.- The powers exercised by the Secretary, Railway Board, as "Controlling Officer” may also be exercised by the Joint Secretary, Railway Board, in respect or officers not above the rank of Section officers Officers and by the Deputy Secretary, Railway Board, in respect of Group C and Group D staff of the Railway Board's office, provided the Controlling Officer and/or General Managers are empowered to redelegate such powers to lower authorities of, such powers can be exercised by authorities lower than the controlling officers Under the relevant rules. (Railway Ministry's letters No. E55 AD 6/4, dated the I5th May, 1956 & 19th April, 1951 and letter No. F(E) LITAPW/1 dated 10-6-74) (4) "Dependent" means any of the following relatives of a deceased subscriber namely, a wife, husband, Parent, child, minor brother, unmarried sister and deceased son’s widow and child, and where no parent of the Subscriber is alive, a patemal grand parent. (5) "Emoluments" means pay as defined in Rule .103(35) in chapter | of this volume and includes any remuneration of the nature of pay received in respect of foreign service, and deamess pay: Provided that@ () The monthly emoluments of a Group @C@ and Group D@ railway servant entitle to running allowances shall include a fixed components representing the pay element in the running allowance, as notified by the Government through administrative instructions from time to time, (ii) the emoluments of a railway servant who is on deputation out of India shall be deemed to be the ‘emoluments he would have drawn had he remained on duty in India; and (ii) in the case of a person re-employed under reemployment terms, emoluments shall mean only the ‘emoluments as admissible as a re-employed person. If in any case pension is held in abeyance, the gross pension (including portion of pension commuted) and /or pensionary equivalent of other retirement benefits held in abeyance shall be excluded from these emoluments, -Railway Ministry@s order.- The term "actual amount of running allowances" represents running allowance subject to the usual limit of seventy-five percent of pay, of running staff employed in relief of permanent station staff and running staff attached to the Indian Territorial Army (Railways). (6) "Family" means (@) in the case of male subscriber, the wife or wives, parents, children, minor brothers, unmarried sisters, deceased son's widow and children and where no parents of the subscriber are alive, a patemal grand parents Provided that if a subscriber proves that his wife has been judicially separated from him or has ceased, under the customary law of the community to which she belongs, to be entitled to maintenance, she shall thenceforth be deemed to be no longer a member of the subscribers family in matters to which these rules relate unless the subscriber subsequently indicates, by express notification in writing to the Accounts Officer that she shall continue to be so regarded; ipihwww indanralways.gov inalwayboerdluploads\codetmarualet-code-Vesbi-vel-chap-901-p24Nim#90% angtwrare0te Indian Ralways (b) In the case of a female subscriber, the husband, parents, children, minor brothers, unmarried sisters, deceased son's widow and children and where no parents of the subscriber are alive, a paternal grand parents. Provided that if a subscriber, by notification in writing to the Accounts Officer, expresses her desire to exclude her husband from the family, the husband, shall henceforth be deemed to be no longer a member of the subscribers family in matters to which these rules relate, unless the subscriber subsequently cancels formally in writing her notification excluding him; Provided further that in either case if the child of a subscriber has been adopted by another person and if, under the personal law of the adopter, adoption is legally recognised as conferring the status of a natural child, such a child shall be considered as excluded from the family of the subscriber. (7) "Fund" means the State Railway Provident Fund. (8) "Pay" for the purpose of Special contribution to Provident Fund admissible to Railway servants under rule 915 means pay as defined in rule 103(35) which the railway servant was receiving immediately before quitting service. The benefit of higher officiating pay will, however, be given only if such pay was drawn continuously for a period of not fess than 22 days. In the case of running staff, the pay for Special Contribution to Provident Fund will include the monthly average of the running allowance drawn during 365 days of running duty immediately preceding quitting service limited to 55% of the pay as determined above. In the case of running staff the pay for special contribution to Provident Fund will include a fixed component representing the pay element in the running allowance, as notified by the Government through administrative instructions from time-to-time. Note 1.- If a Railway servant, immediately before his retirement or death etc. has been absent from duty on leave, the pay for the purpose of Special Contribution to Provident Fund should be taken as that it would have been had he not been absent from duty; Provided that the benefit of higher officiating or temporary pay is given only if it is certified that he would have continued to hold the higher officiating or temporary appointment but for his proceeding on leave Note 2. -The officiating pay drawn by Railway servant while on deputation to other departments of the Central Government or to a State should be taken into account for determining pay under the above para, Note 3.The pay drawn by the Govemment servant while on foreign service or deputation to non Government bodies will not count for Special Contribution to Provident Fund, In such a case the pay Which the Government servant would have drawn under the Goverment, had he not been sent on foreign service/deputation will also be taken into account, Note 4.-In the case of persons governed by the prescribed scales of pay the @deamess pay" shall mean Pay under Rule 103(35) (Railway Ministry's letter No, F(E)III 68PF-1/21 at, 12-9-69) Railway Ministry's decision- (j) The intention of the term “running duty" in this rule is to exclude only such periods during which the railway servant is taken off from the running post to officiate in a stationary post and draws the pay of the stationary post without any running allowances; (i) in cases where a railway servant has been officiating in a stationary post for the entire period of three hundred and sixty-five days or more, the period of three hundred and sixty-five days immediately preceding the date of the stationary appointment should be taken. (Railway Ministry's letter No. F 41AL19(), dt. 2-10-1941), (ii) In the case of members of the running staff, who on transfer from a stationary post to a running post, may not have completed three hundred and sixty-five days of running duty before quilting service, their average running allowance for purposes of this rule should be calculated on the basis of actual days of running duty in the manner indicated in (i) above. (v) The term *monthly average of running allowance drawn during the three hundred and sixty-five days of running duty immediately preceding the date of quitting service” used in proviso (i) of the rule should be interpreted to mean 1/I2th of the total running allowances drawn during the three hundred and sixty-five days or running duty ipihwww indanrailways gov ialwayboerdluploads\codetmarualet-code-Vesbi-vel-chap-901-924Nim#90% aigtwrare0te Indian Ralways immediately preceding the date of quitting service. (Railway Ministry's case No, (FE)51/PF-8/3.) (9) "Running Allowance" is an allowal'ce ordinarily granted to running staff for the performance of duty directly connected with the charge of moving trains; and include "mileage allowance” or “allowance in lieu of mileage" but excludes special compensatory Allowance. (10) "Service" for the purpose of the special contribution admissible under rule 915 means continuous service dunng which a subscriber holds a lien or a suspended lien on a permanent post paid monthly from railway revenues but includes the period of- (i) officiating or temporary service or service as paid apprentice or as a probationer if followed without break by permanent service ; (ii) service in monthly paid works establishment; (ii) which the President may by a general or special order permit to be counted as service. (11) "Subscriber" means a person who is required or is permitted to subscribe to the fund under these rules ; (12) “Technical Department’ means Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Transportation (Power) and Mechanical Engineering and Signal and Tele-communication Department ; (13) "Year" means a financial year. 903. Constitution and management of the fund, ~-The fund shall be maintained in rupees- 904. Compulsory subscribers, -All Railway servants except- (those who are re-employed after final retirement from Goverment service ; and (ii) those whose services were pensionable even before 16th November, 1957, the date of introduction of Pension Scheme on the Railway; shall subscribe to the fund, in accordance with these rules either from the ‘st of the month following that in which they complete one year’s continuous service or from the date of confirmation, whichever is earlier, Provided that- (a) probationers to Railway services, Group A and Group B shall subscribe from the date of appointment; (b) @ person, who is subscribing to a Provident Fund administered by another Department/Ministry of the Central Government or a State Government or a body corporate owned or controlled by Government or an autonomous organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 on the date of his appointment under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) and in whose case the amount in his old Provident Fund is transferred to the State Railway Provident Fund under rule 942-A, shall subscribe to the Fund from the date of joining Railway service; and (0) in the case of a Railway servant not eligible to get Goverment contribution, no subscription shall be recovered on the arrears of emoluments admissible to him consequent on re-fixation of his pay etc, with retrospective effect and paid to him after his retirement from service (@) A temporary railway servant, who is bome on an establishment or factory to which the provisions of Employees Provident Funds and Family Pension Fund Act, 1952 (19 of 1952) would apply or would have applied but for the exemption granted under Section 17 of the said Act, shall subscribe to the State Railway Provident Fund if he has completed six months continuous service or has actually worked for not less than 120 days during a period of six months or less in such establishment or factory to which the said Act applies, under the same employee or partly in the other, or has been declared permanent whichever date is the earliest ipihwww indanralways.gov inalwayboerdluploads\codetmarualet-code-Vesbi-vel-chap-901-p24Nim#90% angrazor Incion Railways (ii) those who enter service on or after Ist January,2004. (Ministry of Railways letter No. F(E)III/2003/PFI/3 dated 31.12.03) Explanation.-For the purpose of this rule "continuous service" shall have the same meaning assigned to it in the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 1952, and the period of work for 120 days shall be computed in the manner specified in the said scheme and shall be certified by the employer (Railway Ministry's letter No, F (E) Ill 76-PF-U7 dt. 28-12-76.) 905. (I) Optional Subscribers. -)) A Railway servant who, after having served in a technical department as an apprentice on an agreement for fixed period, is confirmed in a permanent post may be permitted to subscribe to the fund with retrospective effect for any complete year or years of his apprenticeship; (ii) Special Class Apprentices on confirmation in the Transportation (Power) and Mechanical Engineering Department of the Superior Revenue Establishment of the Indian Railway may be permitted to subscribe to the Fund with retrospective effect from the date their engagement as Special Class Apprentices, and (ii) Re-employed personnel from the date of re-employment. (2) Voluntary Subscribers.-Unless specifically stated otherwise, all compulsory subscribers may subscribe voluntary to the State Railway Provident Fund at any time during the financial year at rates fixed in whole rupees subject to the condition that the rates so fixed shall not exceed the emoluments excluding deamess pay after making necessary deductions due to Government. The amount of such subscription will be in addition to the normal subscription payable under rule 909 in the case of compulsory subscriber and may be — (a) Reduced once at any time during the course of the year, (b) enhanced twice during the course of the year; or (c) reduced and enhanced as aforesaid (Railway Ministry's letter No, F, (E) Ill 77-PF 1/19 at. 28-11-77.) 906. Exceptions. Notwithstanding anything contained in rule, 904 or 905 the President may permit any railway servant or class of Railway servants to subscribe to the Fund subject to such conditions as he may think fit to impose, 907. Subscribers accounts.-An account shall be opened in the name of each subscriber in which shall be credited- (his subscriptions; (ii) the contribution, if any, made under rules 912 and 914 ; (ii) the interest, as provided by rule 920 on the subscriptions and contributions (iv) incentive bonus as provided by rule 921 on the subscriptions (including voluntary subscriptions); (v) the special contribution made under rule 915. 908. Conditions and rates of subscription...Every subscriber shall subscribe monthly to the fund when on duty, foreign service, deputation, temporary transfer from railway service to any other Govemment service or leave other than leave without pay 909. Amount of Subscription.-(|) The amount of subscription payable for any month shall be 8.1/3% i. one twelfth of the subscribers emoluments for that month in the case of SRPF (Non-contributory) Staff and 10% ‘Le. one tenth of the subscriber's emoluments in the case of SRPF (contributory) Staff. ipihwww indanralways.gov inalwayboerdluploads\codetmarualet-code-Vesbi-vel-chap-901-p24Nim#90% a9twrare0te Indian Ralways Provided that :~ ())_ in the case of a person on leave other than leave without pay, the subscription to the State Railway Provident Fund shall be one twelfth (if govemed by SRPF/Non-Contributory Scheme) and one tenth (if govemed by SRPF/Contributory Scheme) of the officiating/substantive pay (including overseas pay. special pay if it forms part of the scale of pay of the post, personal pay and deamess pay) admissible to the railway servant from time to time, in the post which he would have held but for being on leave. In the case of running staff one-twelfth (if governed by SRPF/non-contributory scheme) and one-tenth (if govemed by SRPF/ contributory scheme) of 55% of basic pay shall also be added to the subscription referred to above, No subscription shall be recovered during the leave without pay. Explanatory Note- In the light of revision of employee@s subscription/employer's share of contribution to the employee's Provident Fund from 8.1/3% to 10 %' the Government of India have also decided to enhance the ‘employee's subscription/employer's share of contribution to the CPF from the existing 8.1/3 % to 10% we, f, 1-3. 92. It is certified that none of the employees governed by these rules will be adversely affected with this amendment (ii) in the case of a person under suspension, no subscription shall be recovered from the subsistence allowance but if he is subsequently reinstated he shall be allowed the option of paying in one lump sum or in instalments any sum not exceeding the maximum amount of arrear subscription payable for that period. (2) The subscription shall be rounded off to the nearest rupee, fifty paise and above being counted as the next higher rupee and less than fifty paise being dropped (3) A Railway servant who is subscribing to the State Railway Provident Fund (non- contributory) shall be, exempted from making any, subscription, to the fund during the last 3 months of the service. The discontinuance of the subscription would be compulsory and not optional. Recovery towards refund of advance taken from the Provident Fund also may not be made during this period. Further, no temporary advance shall be sanctioned during the last 3 months from the Provident Fund. (4) Railway servant governed by the State Raitway provident Fund. (contributory scheme) shall not subscribe to the fund for the month in which he quits service unless before the commencement of the said month he communicates to the Head of Office in writing his option to subscribe for the said month. 910. Realisation of subscriptions.@(1) When emoluments are drawn from a Govemment treasury in India or from an authorised office of disbursement outside India, recovery of subscription on account of these ‘emolument and of the principal and interest of advance shall be made from the emoluments themselves, (2) When emoluments are drawn from, any other source the subscriber shall forward his dues monthly to the Accounts Officer: Provided that in the case of a subscriber on deputation to a body corporate owned or controlled by Government, the subscription shall be recovered and forwarded to the Accounts Officer by such body. (3) If a subscriber fails to subscribe with effect from the date on which he is required to join the Fund or is in default in any month or months during the course of a year otherwise than as provided in rule 908, the total amount due to the fund on account of arrears of subscription shall with interest thereon at ‘the rate ‘provided in rule 920, forthwith be paid by the subscriber to the Fund or in default be ordered by the Account Officer to be recovered by deduction from the emoluments of the subscriber by instalments or otherwise, as may be directed by the authority Competent to sanction an advance: Provided that the subscribers whose deposits in the Fund carry no interest shall not be required to pay any interest. 911, Recovery of arrears of subscriptions.@If a railway servant is admitted as a subscriber to the fund with retrospective effect, the arrears of subscriptions due from him shall be recoverable either in a lump sum or in such installments as may be fixed by the controlling officer. 912. Contribution by Government. —(1) The provisions of rules 914 and 915 shall apply only to staff ipihwww indanralways.gov inalwayboerdluploads\codetmarualet-code-Vesbi-vel-chap-901-p24Nim#90% aig