The Ministry of Labour and Employment has issued Notification No. S.O. 5009(E) dated 9 September 2026, making a further amendment to the investment framework applicable to provident fund accumulations.
The notification has been published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii).
What has been amended?
The amendment has been issued under Section 17(3)(a) of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. It modifies the earlier notification S.O. 1433(E), dated 29 May 2015, which specifies the categories of instruments in which provident fund money may be invested.
The Government has substituted Clause (c) under Category No. (ii), relating to debt instruments and related investments.
New eligible investment instrument
Under the amended provision, the following rupee bonds are included as eligible instruments:
Bonds issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development;
Bonds issued by the International Finance Corporation;
Bonds issued by the Asian Development Bank; and
Bonds issued by the New Development Bank.
Such bonds must have an outstanding maturity of at least three years.
The inclusion of the New Development Bank is the important change introduced through this notification.
Practical significance
The amendment provides an additional investment option within the permitted debt-instrument category. It may enable the relevant provident fund authorities and exempted establishments or PF trusts to consider qualifying rupee bonds issued by the above institutions, subject to the prescribed investment limits and applicable safeguards.
The amendment does not automatically require investment in these bonds. Any investment decision will continue to be governed by the applicable statutory investment pattern, internal approvals, risk assessment and regulatory conditions.
No change in regular PF compliance
The notification does not change the existing PF contribution or membership provisions. It has no impact on:
Employee and employer contribution rates;
The PF wage ceiling;
PF eligibility or coverage;
PF withdrawal or transfer rules;
Settlement of members’ claims; or
Interest payable to individual PF members.
Employers and employees are therefore not required to make any change to their regular monthly PF compliance merely because of this notification.
Background
The original notification was issued on 29 May 2015 and was subsequently amended on several occasions, including through notifications dated 22 September 2016, 4 January 2021, 29 April 2021 and 1 September 2023.
The latest amendment further updates the list of permitted debt instruments by expressly including qualifying rupee bonds issued by the New Development Bank.
Compliance takeaway
PF trusts, exempted establishments and other concerned authorities should review their investment policies and records to ensure that any investment made under the amended provision satisfies the minimum three-year maturity requirement and all applicable statutory conditions.
For ordinary employers and PF members, there is no immediate change in the day-to-day process of PF deduction, deposit, filing or claim settlement.
Notification No.: S.O. 5009(E)
Date: 9 September 2026
Issued by: Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India
Gazette No.: 4819