Section 7G EPF Act 1952 - Salary, Allowances and Service Conditions of Presiding Officer
Section 7G of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 formerly dealt with the salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Presiding Officer of the Employees' Provident Funds Appellate Tribunal. The provision is no longer operative.
What did Section 7G provide?
Before its omission, Section 7G empowered the prescribed framework to determine the salary and allowances payable to the Presiding Officer and the other terms and conditions of service, including pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits. It also protected an appointed Presiding Officer against a disadvantageous variation in salary, allowances or other service conditions after appointment.
Former text of Section 7G
Historical provision - no longer in force:
The salary and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service including pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits of, the Presiding Officer shall be such as may be prescribed:
Provided that neither the salary and allowances nor the other terms and conditions of service of the Presiding Officer shall be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.
Meaning of the provision
The former Section 7G was a service-conditions provision. In practical terms, it left the detailed salary, allowances, pension, gratuity and retirement-benefit rules to subordinate legislation, while the proviso created statutory protection against reducing those conditions to the Presiding Officer's disadvantage after appointment.
Why was Section 7G omitted?
The Finance Act, 2017 reorganised the tribunal framework. Section 159 amended the EPF Act, substituted Section 7D and omitted Sections 7E, 7F, 7G and 7H with effect from 26 May 2017. Following that restructuring, the Industrial Tribunal constituted by the Central Government became the Tribunal for purposes of the EPF Act.
Current position under Section 7D
Section 7D now identifies the Industrial Tribunal constituted by the Central Government as the Tribunal for the purposes of the EPF Act. Accordingly, readers researching current tribunal composition or service conditions should consult the presently applicable tribunal framework rather than rely on the former wording of Section 7G.
Key legal point
For historical disputes concerning appointments or service conditions from the period when Section 7G was in force, its former wording may remain relevant to the facts and law applicable at that time. For current matters, however, Section 7G itself is marked as omitted in the official text of the EPF Act.