Companies Act, 1956
Sec 418 - Provisions applicable to provident funds of
employees.
(1) Where a provident fund has been
constituted by a company for its employees or any class of its employees, all
moneys contributed to such fund (whether by the company or by the employees) or
received or accruing by way of interest or otherwise to such fund shall, within
fifteen days from the date of contribution, receipt or accrual, as the case may
be, either -
(a) be deposited -
(i) in a post office savings bank account, or
(ii) in a special account to be opened by the
company for the purpose in the State Bank of India or in a Scheduled Bank, or
(iii) where the company itself is a Scheduled
Bank, in a special account to be opened by the company for the purpose either
in itself or in the State Bank of India or in any other Scheduled Bank ; or
(b) be invested in the securities mentioned or
referred to in clauses (a) to (e) of section 20 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882
(2 of 1882).
(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
in the rules of any provident fund to which sub-section (1) applies or in any
contract between a company and its employees, no employee shall be entitled to
receive, in respect of such portion of the amount to his credit in such fund as
is invested in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1), interest at a
rate exceeding the rate of interest yielded by such investment.
(3) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall affect
any rights of an employee under the rules of a provident fund to obtain
advances from or to withdraw money standing to his credit in the fund, where
the fund is a recognized provident fund within the meaning of clause (a) of
section 58A of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, or where the rules of the fund
contain provisions corresponding to rules 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, of the Indian
Income-tax (Provident Funds Relief) Rules.
(4) Where a trust has been created by a
company with respect to any provident fund referred to in sub-section (1), the
company shall be bound to collect the contribution of the employees concerned
and pay such contribution as well as its own contributions, if any, to the
trustees within fifteen days from the date of collection ; but in other
respects, the obligations laid on the company by this section shall devolve on
the trustees and shall be discharged by them instead of by the company.