EPFO ECR Challan Submission online at epfindia.gov.in

EPFO ECR / Challan Submission Filing online through a dedicate Electronic Portal i.e. Unified EPFO portal. Whether you are an employer or employee, you need to have EPFO portal credentials to log in to the portal..

Online ECR Challan Submission  OTCP (Epf India For Employers)

ECR means Electronic Challan cum Return. In short, it is also known as E-Challan. This E-Challan is upload by the employer and not by the employee. This is a sort of monthly return which needs to filled online by the employer on the employer portal.  The sole purpose of this challan is to remit the employee’s dues online. 

What are the details include in the ECR?

Well, the ECR contains the details of the wages (member wise), basic details of the employee (old as well as new members), contributions made by the employer, etc.

What are the benefits of ECR?

1. The need to submit form 5/10, 3A, 6A, 12 A, etc. is totally obliterated if the employer uploads the ECR.

2. It lessens the need for paper or paperwork for challan generation.

3. It is a quick electronic process that saves time for the employer as well as the employee.

4. In case one needs to see the annual slip, it makes it available to him/her in just a few clicks.

5. All the notifications related to the ECR are notified to the employer through SMS. It helps to keep the employer updated.

Process of ECR Filing

All the works relate to the EPFO ECR challan are done through a dedicate Electronic Portal i.e. Unified EPFO portal. Whether you are an employer or employee, you need to have EPFO portal credentials to log in to the portal and avail all of its services.

The process of EPFO ECR filing for the employer is very easy if you have your Login credentials. Just follow the steps discussed below for the ECR filing: –

• Log in to the Unified web portal of the EPFO : unifiedportal-emp.epfindia.gov.in or epfindia.gov.in
• After Logging in, ensure that all the employer-related details like PF code, Address, name of the Establishment, and exemption status are correct or not.
• Now, search for the tab ‘Payment’, present on the top of the page. Click on it.
• You will see a drop-down list, select the option of ‘ECR (Upload)’ from there.
• Now, you will be asked for some details like the wage month for which you want to upload ECR, the date of salary disbursal, contribution rate, remarks (if any), etc.
• Here, you need to upload the supported ECR File also. The supported file format can seen with the help of ‘ECR Help File’. Once, you know the format supported, convert your ECR file in that format and then upload the text file according to the selected Wage Month.
• At the end, you need to select the rate of contribution also, which is set to 12% (by default). You can change it to 10% also, if there is requirement of such kind.
• Now, click on the ‘Upload’ button present at the bottom of the screen.
• Your ECR file will validated now. If all goes well, you will see the message ‘File Validation Successful’ on the screen. Or you will get an Error message.
• TRRN will generated now for the particular ECR.
• TO generate the ECR summary sheet, click on the ‘Prepare Challan’ tab.
• You will then be ask to enter the Admin/Inspection charges. Enter it, and then press the ‘Generate Tab’.
• A new screen will now appear on the screen. Even now also, you can edit the details of the Challan prepared. If everything is OK, please click on the ‘Finalize’ button.
• Now, the Challan is finally approve and prepared. If you wish, you can download and save the receipt file. It is present in the ‘In – Process Challan List’.
• As the Challan is ready, you can now make the Payment for the same by clicking on the ‘Pay’ button.
• You will now taken to the payment gateway

How to prepare the ECR Text File in Tally?

 For generating the Challan, one needs to prepare a text file for the Challan. This file is develop using Tally. Just follow the process discussed below to generate the file: –

1. Open Tally. On the screen, you will see a ‘Display’ option. Follow this path for generating the ECR

Display>> Payroll Reports>>Statutory Reports>> PF>>E-Challan Return (ECR).

2. To configure the fields, click on the ‘Backspace’ button. The fields that need to configure are-

• Language and Format
• Export Location
• Output File Name
• Open Export File (which should always set to ‘Yes’) 
• ‘From’ and ‘To’ Fields ( For selecting the time period)
• Employee/Group
• Sorting Method
• Display Employee Name as.

3. In order to export the E-Challan Report, press the ‘Enter’ key.