Thursday February 14, 2013

Bosses who default on EPF contributions to pay dearly

PETALING JAYA: The recovery of unpaid Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions by errant employers is no longer limited to six years.

This follows a landmark decision by the Federal Court of Malaysia on Jan 16, affirming an earlier decision by the Court of Appeal which had refused to grant further appeal to an errant employer over the issue of limitation.

EPF general manager for public relations Nik Affendi Jaafar said with that decision, employers could not evade paying their EPF contribution based on the six-year limitation.

“With this landmark decision, any appeal by errant employers on time-limit grounds merits no further argument in any court as the Federal Court has considered the issue as settled law.

“Employers are therefore advised to take proactive steps to ensure the timely submission of their employees’ contribution payments,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Nik Affendi said that the rate of defaulting employers for the fourth quarter of last year had reduced to 1.2% from 1.48% in the previous period following enforcement initiatives taken by EPF.

“A total of 139 employers were fined a total of RM177,180 for the offence under the EPF Act during the period.

“We also filed 244 civil suits against company directors and 748 criminal cases against employers who defaulted on their employees’ contribution.

“During the same period, the names of 436 company directors were submitted to the Immigration Department to prevent them from leaving the country without first settling their EPF arrears,” he added.

Under the EPF Act, employers are obliged to submit their monthly statutory contributions before or on the 15th day of each month.

Members are urged to check their EPF accounts on a regular basis to ensure that their contributions are in order and to immediately report any discrepancy in their account.

News

Thursday February 14, 2013

Bosses who default on EPF contributions to pay dearly