The ABRY is a scheme that the Government of India announced on 12th November 2020 under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat 3.0 package. Its main objective is to create new opportunities for employment for the population during the COVID-19 aftermath.
Reference Base
Below is the method that can be used to calculate the reference base number for determining the establishment’s eligibility for the scheme:
- For those cases where the electronic challan cum return for Sept 2020 has been filed within the due date:
Reference base number = employee number from whom contributions have been remitted by the employer
For those cases where the electronic-challan cum return for Sept 2020 has been filed beyond the due date but within 15th Dec 2020:
Reference base number = higher of (a) or (b)
- (a) = the employee number is shown in the Sept 2020 wage month’s electronic challan cum return.
- (b) = the employee number according to the filing of the latest electronic-challan cum return up to 11th Nov 2020.
- For cases where the organisation has been registered with EPFO newly from 1st Oct to 30th June 2021:
Reference base number = 0
Eligibility criteria of establishments
The following are the criteria that establishments already registered need to satisfy:
- The establishment should employ the following minimum number of employees over and above the reference base:
| Min. no. of new employees to be employed above the reference base | The employee’s corresponding reference base |
|---|---|
| Five | More than 50 |
| Two | Less than or equal to 50 |
- To avail of the benefit for any wage month, both of the following needs to be maintained by the establishment:
- Retain the employee number taken as a reference base
- A minimum number of new employees
- The following criteria need to be satisfied by the employees getting registered between 1st Oct 2020 – 30th June 2021:
- The establishment won’t be allowed to escape the scheme under the EPF and MP Act 1952.
- If an establishment is newly established, its reference base will be zero.
- The amount can be withdrawn by the beneficiary employee only after the expiry of 2 years from the validity period’s completion.
New Employees Criteria
- The new employee should be registered under the scheme by the eligible establishment from 1st Oct 2020 to 30th June 2021.
- An Aadhaar-based UAN should be owned by the new employee
- The new employee’s monthly wage should be below Rs. 15,000 during the scheme period.
- The new employee won’t be eligible for the scheme if they are already a registered beneficiary or the employer is availing the benefit of PMRPY/ PMPRPY, 2016.
Benefits under the scheme
For eligible new employees, a subsidy, according to the following table, is available for 24 months.
| Particulars | Subsidy’s quantum |
|---|---|
| Organisations employing upto one thousand employees for the wage month of Sept 2020. | Both the employee’s and employer’s contributions are subject to a max. of 24% of the wages. |
| Organisations employing above one thousand employees for the wage month of Sept 2020. | Only the contribution of the employee as per the applicable statutory rate is subject to a max. of 12% of the wages. |
Process to Apply for ABRY Scheme
Step 1: Login through your establishment login credential into the unified portal.
Step 2: Go to ABRY and then to Establishment Registration. The page containing the ABRY Employer declaration will be displayed.
- The number of employees for whom ECR was filed for the wage month of Sept 2020 will be displayed on the screen.
- If the total number of employees, including all branches, is more than the reference base as per Sept. 20 ECR, the employer will have to choose one of the following three categories:
- Below 50 members
- Between 51-1000 members
- More than 1000 members
- Then, the employer will need to accept the Certificate/Declaration of the employer. After submission, he can view the declaration details of the ABRY.
Step 3: For member registration, go to ABRY>>Member registration. Click on “Click here to read instructions” to know about the file’s structure to be uploaded. Upload the same and submit it. If there is any error after submission, check the error and upload again after correcting it. If no errors are found, approve and submit.
Step 4: For ECR filing,
- Go to the link payment, click on ECR Return Filing, and go to ECR upload
- Go to the link Payment>>ECR Return Filing>>ECR upload. After the ECR is verified, prepare the challan and pay for it after its finalisation.
FAQs
1. What is the main objective of the ABRY scheme?
The main objective of the ABRY scheme is to provide incentives to the employees of organisations registered under the EPF and MP Act, 1952. The incentives include the generation of new employment opportunities and provision of support to the new employees entering the organisation with a monthly wage of less than Rs. 15,000. It also aims to provide employment to those belonging to the low-wage category who lost their job during Covid 19 crisis.
2. What is the validity period for the registration of beneficiaries under the ABRY scheme?
For new employees, the validity for the registration of beneficiaries under the ABRY scheme is from Oct 2020 to June 2021.
3. Can the benefits offered by the ABRY scheme only be availed during the validity period?
The benefits under the ABRY scheme can be availed by the employee for a period of 24 months from the date of registration by the employer of the eligible organisation.
4. What does the employer need to do to avail of the benefits?
To avail of the benefits, the employer must ensure the correct information regarding the declaration for the total number of employees and the amount of wages in the ECR. He must also provide the correct and full details regarding the organisation in Form 5A.
Comments are closed.