Section 7H of EPF Act 1952 - Staff of Tribunal

Section 7H of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 formerly dealt with the officers and employees assisting the EPF Appellate Tribunal. The provision is no longer operative: it was omitted with effect from 26 May 2017.

Current legal position: Section 7H is marked "Omitted" in the current central Act. The omission was made by section 159 of the Finance Act, 2017 with effect from 26 May 2017. The tribunal framework was reorganised at the same time, and Section 7D now identifies the Industrial Tribunal referred to there as the Tribunal for purposes of the EPF Act.

What did Section 7H provide?

Before its omission, Section 7H was titled "Staff of Tribunal". It regulated the staffing support for the Tribunal, the supervision of those officers and employees, and their service conditions.

Historical text of Section 7H

(1) The Central Government was to determine the nature and categories of officers and other employees required to assist a Tribunal in discharging its functions and provide such staff as it considered fit.

(2) The officers and other employees of a Tribunal were to discharge their functions under the general superintendence of the Presiding Officer.

(3) Their salaries, allowances and other conditions of service were to be prescribed.

Why was Section 7H omitted?

The Finance Act, 2017 rationalised the tribunal structure. Section 159 amended the EPF Act, substituted the tribunal arrangement in Section 7D and omitted Sections 7E, 7F, 7G and 7H from 26 May 2017. Therefore, the old Section 7H text should be read only for historical context and not as a current operative staffing provision.

Meaning of key terms

Tribunal: For the present EPF Act framework, Section 2(m) read with Section 7D links the expression "Tribunal" to the Industrial Tribunal referred to in Section 7D.

Presiding Officer: In the former Section 7H framework, this was the officer under whose general superintendence the Tribunal staff discharged their functions. Because Section 7H has been omitted, its former staffing language should not be presented as the current rule.

Prescribed: In statutory drafting, a matter stated to be "prescribed" is ordinarily one to be specified through rules made under the enabling Act, subject to the particular statutory context.

Related EPF appeal provisions

Section 7D now deals with the Tribunal, while Section 7-I provides for appeals to the Tribunal and Section 7J addresses Tribunal procedure. Readers dealing with a present EPF appeal should consult the current text rather than rely on the omitted Section 7H.

Official legal sources

This page explains the statutory provision for general legal information. For a proceeding or compliance issue, verify the latest Act, rules, notifications and applicable judicial decisions.