Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

10. In the instant case, the petitioner and his employees had voluntarily opted to come under the provisions of Employees Provident Fund Act by filing an application before the Central Provident Fund Commissioner. Sub-section (4) of the Provident Fund Act deals with the voluntary coverage under the Act. This sub-section opens with a non-obstante clause by giving it an overriding effect to sub-section (3) which provides for compulsory coverage of establishment for the purpose of the Act. Two conditions require to be satisfied for attracting this sub-section. The first one is, it should be made to appear to the Central Government that the provisions of the Act should be made applicable to an establishment, which conclusion it can reach either upon an application made to it or otherwise that the employer and the majority of the employees in relation to an establishment have agreed that the provisions of the Act may be made applicable to the said establishment, and secondly, the issue of a notification applying the provisions of the Act to the establishment by publishing the same in the official gazette. It is only when this process is completed, that, the Act can be said to have become applicable to the establishment concerned. In the present case, such a notification is issued by the Central Government. Therefore, it can be safely said that the petitioner's establishment is covered under the Employees Provident Funds  and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.