Employees' State Insurance Corporation (General Provident Fund) Rules, 1995

13. Interest

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-rule (5), the Corporation shall pay to the credit of the account of a subscriber interest at such rate as may be determined for each year by the Central Government in respect of the General Provident Fund for the Central Government employees:

PROVIDED that if the rate of interest determined for a year is less than 4 per cent, all subscribers to the fund in the year preceding that for which the rate has for the first time been fixed at less than 4 per cent, shall be allowed interest at the rate of 4 per cent:

PROVIDED FURTHER that a subscriber who was previously subscribing to any other Provident Fund of the Central Government and whose subscriptions, together with interest thereon, have been transferred to his credit in his fund under rule 26 shall also be allowed interest at the rate of 4 per cent, if he had been receiving that rate of interest under the rules of such other fund under a provision similar to that of the first proviso to this rule.

(2) Interest shall be credited with effect from the last day in each year in the following manner:

(i) on the amount to the credit of a subscriber on the last day of the preceding year, less sums, if any, withdrawn during the current year, interest for twelve months;

(ii) on sums withdrawn during the current year interest from the beginning of the current year up to the last day of the month preceding the month of withdrawal;

(iii) on all sums credited to the subscriber's account after the last day of the preceding year interest from the current year;

(iv) the total amount of interest shall be rounded to the nearest whole rupee (fifty paise and more counting as the next higher rupee):

PROVIDED that when the amount standing to the credit of a subscriber has become payable, interest shall thereupon be credited under this rule in respect only of the period from the beginning of the current year or from the date of deposit, as the case may be, up to the date on which the amount standing to the credit of the subscriber becomes payable.

(3) In this rule, the date of deposit shall, in the case of recovery from emoluments, be deemed to be the first day of the month in which it is recovered, and in the case of an amount forwarded by the subscriber, shall be deemed to be the first day of the month of receipt, if it is received by the accounts officer before the fifth day of that month, but if it is received on or after the fifth day of that month, the first day of the next succeeding month:

PROVIDED that where there has been a delay in the drawal of pay or leave salary and allowances of a subscriber and consequently the recovery of his subscription towards the fund, the interest on such subscriptions shall be payable from the month in which the pay or leave salary of the subscriber was due under the rules, irrespective of the month in which it was actually drawn:

PROVIDED FURTHER that in the case of an amount forwarded in accordance with the proviso to sub-rule (2) of rule 12, the date of deposit shall be deemed to be the first day of the month if it is received by the accounts officer before the fifteenth day of that month:

PROVIDED ALSO that where the emoluments for a month are drawn and disbursed on the last working day of the same month the date of deposit shall, in the case of recovery of his subscriptions, be deemed to be the first day of the succeeding month.

(4) In addition to any amount to be paid under rule 20, 21 or 22 interest thereon up to the end of the month preceding that in which the payment is made or up to the end of the sixth month after the month in which such amount becomes payable whichever of these periods be less, shall be payable to the person to whom such amount is to be paid:

PROVIDED that where the accounts officer has intimated to that person (or his agent) a date on which he is prepared to make payment in cash or has posted a cheque in payment to that person, interest shall be payable only up to the end of the month preceding the date so intimated or the date of posting the cheque, as the case may be:

PROVIDED FURTHER that where a subscriber on deputation to a body corporate, owned or controlled by the government of an autonomous organization registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860) is subsequently absorbed in such body corporate or organization with effect from a retrospective date, for the purpose of calculating the interest due on the fund accumulations of the subscriber the date of issue of the orders regarding absorption shall be deemed to be the date on which the amount to the credit of the subscriber became payable subject to the condition that the amount recovered as subscription during the period commencing from the date of absorption and ending with the date of issue of orders of absorption shall be deemed to be subscription to the fund only for the purpose of awarding interest under this sub-rule.

(5) Interest shall not be credited to the account of a subscriber if he informs the accounts officer that he does not wish to receive it; but if he subsequently asks for interest, it shall be credited with effect from the first day of the year in which he asks for it.

(6) The interest on amount which under sub-rule (3) of rule 12, rule 20 or rule 21 are replaced to the credit of the subscriber in the Fund, shall be calculated at such rates as may be successively prescribed under sub-rule (1) of this rule and so far as may be in the manner prescribed in this rule.

(7) In case a subscriber is found to have drawn from the fund an amount in excess of the amount standing to his credit on the date of the drawal, the overdrawn amount, irrespective of whether the overdrawal occurred in the course of an advance or a withdrawal or the final payment from the fund, shall be repaid by him with interest thereon in one lump sum, or in default be ordered to be recovered by deduction one lump sum, from the emoluments of the subscriber. If the total amount to be recovered is more than half of the subscriber's emoluments, recoveries shall be made in monthly installments of moieties of his emoluments till the entire amount together with interest, is recovered. For this sub-rule the rate of interest, to be charged on overdrawn amount would be 2.5 per cent over and above the normal rate of provident fund balance under sub-rule (1). The interest realized on the overdrawn amount shall be credited to corporation account under a distinct sub-head 'Interest on overdrawals from provident fund' under the head "049-interest receipts-C-other interest receipts of corporation-other receipts".