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ESI return refers to the monthly payments the company must pay the Government under the ESI Act of 1948. Since the ESIC provides the employees with benefits like accident medical, life and other insurances, the companies are required to file ESI Returns monthly.
This page provides the steps to generate the ESI Return file with Pocket HRMS and file it using the ESIC portal. This guide also covers the steps to file the supplementary monthly contributions and generate challans.
✔ Admin credentials
✔ User rights
Note - Kindly contact your Admin/ HR for rights if you are not able to perform the steps below.
Step 1: Go to Analytics > Reports.
Step 2: Open the ‘Statutory’ tab and select the ‘ESI Reports’ sub-tab and select the option ‘ESIC Return’.
Step 3: Select the month, year, and the location for the report.
Step 4: Click on the ‘Download Excel’ button, and the ESI Report file will be downloaded in the required format.
There are 2 forms of filing the ESIC Contribution details into the portal:
Upload Excel File
Online Entries
Creating the Excel sheet for MC:
Enter the 10-digit IP number, IP name, number of days, total monthly wages, reason for ‘0 wages’ (in case any ‘0 wages’ are present) and last working day. The ‘Last Working Day’ entry should be either ‘Employee has left service’, ‘Retired’, ‘Out of Coverage’, ‘Expired’, ‘Non-implemented Area’ or ‘Retrenchment’. For other reasons, let this column remain blank.
The number of days should be whole number. Fractions should be rounded up to the next higher integer.
The Excel sheet upload will be successful only if all details of the employees who are currently mapped in the system are entered perfectly in the excel sheet.
The system will automatically perform IP Contribution and Employer Contribution calculations.
The reasons for last working day are assigned numeric codes and the dates should be provided in either dd/mm/yyyy format or dd-mm-yyyy format. You should also pad the single digits with a leading 0 to maintain data accuracy.
Once the ‘0 wages’ are provided, the IP will be removed from the employer’s record. Subsequent months will not have this IP listed under the employer.
All columns of the Excel file should have the data format as ‘Text’.
The Excel file should be saved in the older Excel 97-2003 format with the extension ‘.xls’.
Step 1: Log into the ESIC web portal of EPFO by entering your ECR portal credentials and valid Captcha.
Note: We recommend using the latest Mozilla Firefox browser to visit the EPFO website and upload the PF ECR file for optimal experience.
Step 2: Once logged in, click on the link to the right side of the page: File Monthly Contributions.
Step 3: Enter the required details such as the month and year, contribution type and employer’s code. Upload the ESIC file by clicking on the link ‘Upload Excel’.
Step 4: You will be redirected to the next page, where you need to click on the ‘Browse’ button to select the Excel file. Once the file is selected, click on the ‘Upload’ button to upload it.
Note: Kindly turn off ‘Pop-up Blocker’ for your internet browser to ensure a smooth process.
Step 1: Log into the ESIC web portal of EPFO by entering your ECR portal credentials and valid Captcha.
Step 2: Once logged in, click on the link to the right side of the page: File Monthly Contributions.
Step 3: Enter the required details such as the month and year, contribution type and employer’s code. Click on the ‘Submit’ button to submit the details.
Step 4: Enter the number of days and the total monthly wages. Click on the ‘Next’ button for filing details in next page. The Employee Contribution will be calculated and displayed. This is rounded to next higher rupee.
Step 5: Click on the ‘Save’ button, so that the employer can make changes later or provide details of remaining IPs contribution.
Step 6: After entering all the contribution data in the pages, verify the details after clicking on the ‘Preview’ button. You will be able to view the Contribution Submission Summary Page.
Step 7: Please verify all the data fields in the pop-up as the contribution once submitted cannot be altered or deleted. Hence, you need to tick the check box marked ‘Data Verified’ and then click on the ‘Submit’ button.
Step 8: Once the data is submitted, you will get the ‘Create Challan’ button.
Step 9: Once you generate the Challan, you will be redirected to the payment page. You can view all details and select the ‘Online Payment’ option, and then click on the ‘Submit’ button to generate the Challan number.
Step 10: On the next screen, you will be able to view the Challan number, which should be saved for future reference. Clicking on the ‘Continue’ button on this screen will redirect you to the payment gateway to complete the payment process.
Step 11: Once the payment is successful, you will be redirected back to the ESIC portal where you can see the ‘Transaction Status’ as ‘Completed Successfully’. You can choose to either print or close the window by clicking on either ‘Print’ or ‘Close’ buttons respectively.
The employer can file the ESIC supplementary monthly contribution only after they have filed the monthly contribution.
The employer can also modify the initial monthly contribution by filing the supplementary contribution.
The supplementary contribution can be filed multiple times.
It should be noted that the supplementary contribution can be used only for paying any excess amount in case the initial monthly contribution was not paid in full. You will not be able to reduce the monthly contribution amount using this option.
Step 1: Log into the ESIC web portal of EPFO by entering your ECR portal credentials and valid Captcha.
Step 2: Once logged in, click on the link to the right side of the page: File Monthly Contributions.
Step 3: Enter the required details such as the month and year and employer’s code. Select the option ‘Supplementary Contribution’ under the ‘Contribution Type’ field. Select the ‘Submit’ button to proceed to the next page.
Step 4: Enter the ‘Insurance Number’ and click on ‘Add More’ button to proceed ahead.
Step 5: There are 2 different cases for filing supplementary contribution:
A. Case 1: Modifying the wages or number of days for 1 or more IP whose monthly contributions have already been submitted:
Employer should enter the Insurance Number for whom the contribution is to be modified.
The name of the IP with insurance number should be present in the employer list.
The employer should provide the updated wages for the employee.
After submitting the contribution, the system will automatically update the monthly contribution to reflect the correct amount.
Once the monthly contribution entry is updated, you can create an updated challan.
B. Case 2: Employer wants to add a new IP whose contribution was skipped while filing the monthly contribution.
In this case, the employer should insert the IP or ‘Register’ the IP with the system.
Once the IP is registered, the employer should enter the Insurance Number for which contribution to be modified.
The employer is also required to provide the wages details of the employee.
The Employer can use the ‘Add More’ button to add more IPs and update their contribution amount.
After submitting the contribution, the system will automatically update the monthly contribution to reflect the correct amount.
Once the monthly contribution entry is updated, you can create an updated challan.
The Challan for Supplementary Monthly Contribution can be generated in the same manner as the Monthly Contribution.
If the employer has not generated a Challan yet, then they can generate it for the full amount that is equal to the sum of the Monthly Contribution and the Supplementary Monthly Contribution.
If the employer has generated a Challan for the initial Monthly Contribution, they can generate another Challan for the Supplementary Monthly Contribution.
Step 1: Log into the ESIC web portal of EPFO by entering your ECR portal credentials and valid Captcha.
Step 2: Once logged in, click on the link to the right side of the page: ViewContributionHistory.
Step 3: Select the month and year for which you need to view the details for and click on the ‘View’ button.
Step 4: If you wish to print the details, you can do so by clicking on the ‘Print’ button on this screen.
Step 1: Log into the ESIC web portal of EPFO by entering your ECR portal credentials and valid Captcha.
Step 2: Once logged in, click on the link to the right side of the page: Recovery/Defaulter Challan.
Step 3: Select the ‘DefaulterList’ tab and enter the required details and verify the automatically populated data fields. Select the ‘Payment Mode’ as ‘Online’ and click on the ‘Submit’ button to proceed to the payment page.
Step 4: Proceed with the steps to generate the challan as provided above.
Step 1: Log into the ESIC web portal of EPFO by entering your ECR portal credentials and valid Captcha.
Step 2: Once logged in, click on the link to the right side of the page: Recovery/Defaulter Challan.
Step 3: Select the ‘Recovery Certificates’ tab and enter the required details and verify the automatically populated data fields. Select the ‘Payment Mode’ as ‘Online’ and click on the ‘Submit’ button to proceed to the payment page.
Step 4: Proceed with the steps to generate the challan as provided above.
This option is used in cases where the Challan paying authority is different from the Challan generating authority. Hence, no login credentials are required in this case.
Step 1: Visit the ESIC web portal and click on the link: Pay e-challan.
Step 2: Enter the Employer Code and the Captcha and click on the ‘Submit’ button.
Step 3: All pending challans against the employer code will be displayed. Click on a specific challan to pay for it.
Note: If you are unable to generate the ESI Return File, kindly contact us at
Process for generation of ESI Return File and Uploading it
