Over 860 establishments have defaulted in their payment of dues to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation to the tune of Rs 776.85 crore (Rs 7.77 billion).

The list includes 756 un-exempted funds, which have failed to pay Rs 453.51 crore (Rs 4.53 billion). Another 107 exempted establishments have not met their payment obligations amounting to Rs 323.34 crore (Rs 3.23 billion).

The default amount includes PF contributions (of both employees and employers), administration charges and penal damages.

According to the EPFO's annual report for 2001-2002, the latest available, the prominent companies on the list of defaulters include Shaw Wallace, Haldia Petrochemicals, Whirpool, Dunlop India, HMT and Maruti Udyog.

High-profile government entities like Hindustan Petroleum corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation - which are up for divestment - as well Indian Oil Corporation also figure in the defaulters' list.

The top 10 defaulters are Karnataka Handloom Development, Hindustan Antibiotics, Kunal Engineering, Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport Corp, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corp, Central Inland Water Transport Corp, IDPL, HEC, New Central Jute Mills Co and Aras Vikas Sansthan.

The list includes only establishments that owe more than Rs 10 lakh to the regulator-cum-administrator. If one includes small defaulters (less than Rs 10 lakh), the EPFO has total arrears of Rs 953.04 crore, of which Rs 678.82 crore (Rs 6.79 billion) falls in the unrealisable category and Rs 274.22 crore (Rs 2.74 billion) in the realisable through mandated proceedings, the organisation said in its annual report.

In 2001-2002, Rs 130 crore (Rs 1.3 billion) was recovered, largely by attaching bank accounts in 8,000-odd cases for a sum of Rs 86.95 crore (Rs 869 million). The EPFO invoked its powers and arrested 145 defaulters to recover Rs 20.23 crore (Rs 202 million).

Un-exempted funds in Maharashtra account for the maximum number of defaults. In the state, 97 entities owe the EPFO Rs 62.64 crore (Rs 626 million). Another 117 establishments based in Tamil Nadu have Rs 56.6 crore (Rs 566 million) in dues.

The administrator-cum-regulator is seeking the support of state governments in its recovery of arrears, as well as seeking the co-operation of the state police in attaching movable and immovable properties of defaulter employers.

Among exempted establishments, where employees' provident funds are looked after by corporate trusts, the maximum defaults have taken place in West Bengal (Rs 197.71 crore). In Maharashtra, 14 defaulting establishments owe the EPFO Rs 25.7 crore (Rs 257 milluion).

There are a total of 2,590 exempted establishments; over 49 per cent of them are concentrated in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

A number of textile mills and educational establishments have also defaulted on dues to the EPFO. State government entities like Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation owe the EPFO Rs 20.36 crore (Rs 203.6 million). In Karnataka, Rs 34.8 crore (Rs 348 million) is outstanding.

Some of these outstanding amounts fall in the un-realisable category on account of various reasons such as disputes in courts, factories having gone into liquidation, recovery action barred by state and central laws and companies having been referred to the Board for Financial and Industrial Reconstruction, the EPFO annual report said.