New Delhi, December 03, 2020: The Supreme Court has observed that the provisions of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act are applicable to a private security agency are engaged in the expert service of providing personnel to its client, if it meets the requirement of the EPF Act.

The Supreme Court Bench of Justices Navin Sinha and Surya Kant observed thus while dismissing an appeal filed by Panther Security Service Private Ltd. against the High Court order affirming the Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner's order holding it liable for compliance with the provisions of the EPF Act and to deposit statutory dues.

The court noted that "We have no doubt in our mind that the appellant is engaged in the specialised and expert services of providing trained and efficient security guards to its clients on payment basis. The contention that the appellant merely facilitated in providing Chowkidars cannot be countenanced. The provisions of the Act of 2005 make it manifest that the appellant is the employer of such security guards and who are its employees and are paid wages by the appellant.

Merely because the client pays money under a contract to the appellant and in turn the appellant pays the wages of such security guards from such contractual amount received by it, it does not make the client the employer of the security guard nor do the security guards constitute employees of the client.", the bench observed.

In appeal, the contention of the company was not the employer of these security guards and neither were they their employees and that since the salary was paid by the client and who had the ultimate control over the security guards deployed with them.

The court also said that since the company never made available the statutory registers under the Act of 2005 to the authorities under the EPF Act, it should be held that it actually withheld relevant papers. While dismissing the appeal

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