NCLAT rejects EPFO appeal over unpaid PF dues in Vilsons Roofing insolvency plan
The NCLAT on 29 October 2026 dismissed an EPFO appeal seeking Rs 4.56 lakh in provident fund dues left out of Vilsons Roofing Products' resolution plan, holding it was filed too late.
Key points
- The NCLAT on 29 October 2026 dismissed an EPFO appeal against the resolution plan approved for Vilsons Roofing Products.
- EPFO said Rs 4,56,121 of provident fund dues was not provided for; the tribunal held the appeal was filed beyond the 45-day limit.
- The tribunal said admitted PF dues were paid in full under the plan, and that disputes over claims must be raised while insolvency is still on.
Photo: Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped). Representational image.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on 29 October 2026 dismissed an appeal by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which said Rs 4,56,121 (about Rs 4.56 lakh) of provident fund dues had been left out of the resolution plan for Vilsons Roofing Products Private Limited. The tribunal held that the appeal was filed after a deadline it cannot extend, and also rejected it on merits.
What Happened
The company was admitted into insolvency on 27 October 2023. EPFO's Raipur regional office filed a claim of Rs 13,88,701 on 30 May 2024 and a revised claim of Rs 15,53,780 on 9 August 2024. According to the order, Rs 10,97,659 was admitted, Rs 1,77,440 was rejected and Rs 2,78,681 was kept under verification. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, approved the resolution plan on 28 April 2026.
EPFO argued that provident fund dues are employees' money and must be paid in full. The NCLAT noted that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) allows an appeal within 30 days, extendable by at most 15 days. EPFO's appeal came 56 days after the order, 11 days beyond that outer limit. The tribunal held that time runs from the date the order is pronounced, not from 10 June 2026, when EPFO said it learnt of it.
On merits, the tribunal said the law protecting provident fund dues is settled, but EPFO had not shown how much of the unpaid sum was contribution and how much was interest or damages. It found that the plan provided for all admitted provident fund dues in full and upfront, and that EPFO could have challenged how its claim was admitted before the NCLT while the process was on.
What It Means
The NCLT's approval of the plan stands. Once a plan is approved, claims not provided for in it stand extinguished, the tribunal noted.
For creditors of a company in insolvency, including statutory bodies, the order is a reminder to track how their claims are treated in the list of creditors, to raise disputes before the NCLT during the process, and to appeal within the time the IBC allows. The NCLAT's order may be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Source: NCLAT order
Sources & Citations
- NCLAT order — National Company Law Appellate Tribunal