FIR filed against SpiceJet MD, others over PF dues
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New Delhi: Ajay Singh, the managing director of Spice Jet, and a few other high-ranking officials of the airline have been charged with cheating and criminal conspiracy by the Delhi Police's Economic Offence Wing for neglecting to pay their allotted share of the Provident Fund, which amounts to over Rs 65 crore.
In the formal complaint filed by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), five individuals are named as accused parties in addition to MD Ajay Singh. Among them are Manoj Kumar, Ajay Chhotelal Aggarwal, Anurag Bhargava (independent director), and Shiwani Singh (director).
According to the FIR, between June 2022 and August 2024, all six of the individuals—who the complainant refers to as their employers—deducted 12% of the employees' share from their pay cheques in lieu of provident fund dues.
According to section 6 of the EPF and MP Act, employees must pay EPFO their 12% share of the PF dues, which must then be deposited into the corresponding PF accounts of the employees fund that EPFO, a statutory authority, maintains. In the previous two years, SpiceJet, which employs about 10,000 people, withdrew Rs 65,70,62,540 from each employee's account as provident fund, the New Indian Express reported.
However, according to the complainant, the money withheld was not remitted for crediting into the employees' PF accounts within the required 15 days of each month's end between June 2022 and August 2024. It was against the terms of the EPF scheme.
“The establishment’s representative admitted to have made the said deduction in respect of the employees during quasi-judicial proceedings before a competent assessing officer,” the complainant stated following which a case was registered.
A top Spicejet official informed this newspaper that the company has deposited the provident fund balance for the last ten months and paid off all GST dues and pending salary.
“Within the first week of raising fresh funds of about Rs 3,000 crore through the Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), the airline has cleared all pending salary and GST dues and has made significant progress by depositing ten months of PF dues, and the process of clearing other outstanding dues is ongoing,” the airline official said.
A spokesperson for the airline stated, "We remain on track with the financial and operational plan outlined in our QIP strategy." SpiceJet has been operating with a reduced fleet and facing a number of challenges, including financial difficulties and legal issues. Among other things, the airline has reached settlements with various aircraft lessors.
“The establishment’s representative admitted to have made the said deduction in respect of the employees during quasi-judicial proceedings before a competent assessing officer,” the complainant stated.