How Employers Can Fix ECR Errors RFE-37 & RFE-25 (The POHW Surcharge Glitch)

For payroll administrators and HR teams processing the October 2026 EPF cycle, a confusing portal error is currently blocking bulk Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) uploads. If your payroll text file is being instantly rejected with cryptic codes like RFE-37 or RFE-25, your upload is failing due to a mismatch regarding the Pension on Higher Wages (POHW) rules.

Essentially, the EPFO Unified Employer Portal is incorrectly reading your standard employees as POHW beneficiaries, creating a mathematical conflict that prevents the generation of your monthly payment challan. Here is a practical breakdown of what these errors mean for your payroll team and the exact formatting steps required to fix your ECR file and complete your statutory remittance.

Decoding the Error Codes: What the Portal Expects

When your HR team uploads the ECR file, the EPFO portal instantly cross-verifies the mathematical relationship between the EPF and EPS columns. The current glitch triggers two specific rejections:

• RFE-25: “EPS contribution must be 8.33% of EPS wages (plus an additional 1.16% for POHW cases).”
• RFE-37: “Employer PF contribution must match the difference between Due EPF and Due EPS contributions calculated on wages.”

The Root Cause: Payroll Software Configuration

This issue frequently surfaces when third-party payroll software or internal HR templates misinterpret recent EPFO notifications regarding government pension subsidies or the 2026 wage ceiling update.

Many payroll systems incorrectly assume that any EPS wage declared above ₹15,000 automatically categorizes the employee as a POHW case. This is false. The standard EPS wage ceiling is now exactly ₹25,000. If your software forces the 1.16% calculation on a standard employee earning ₹20,000, the portal will reject the entire company challan.

How to Fix Your ECR Text File: Step-by-Step

To force the ECR through the portal successfully, you must ensure your plain-text upload file explicitly tells the EPFO system not to apply the POHW surcharge to standard employees.

Step 1: Audit the POHW Flag Column

In the ECR text format, there is a specific column (flag) denoting whether an employee is an approved POHW case.

• Open your ECR text file in Notepad or export it to a CSV editor to view the raw data.
• Ensure that for all standard employees, this specific flag is strictly set to 'N' (No). If it is left blank or mistakenly mapped to 'Y' (Yes) by your payroll software, the portal will immediately demand the 1.16% surcharge.

Step 2: Recalculate EPS Without the 1.16% Surcharge

For all non-POHW employees earning above ₹15,000, manually verify the math in your file:

• EPS Contribution: Must be exactly 8.33% of the EPS wages (capped at a maximum of ₹25,000). Do not calculate at 9.49%.
• Example: If the employee's EPS wage is ₹20,000, the EPS contribution column must read 1666. If your software calculated 1898 (which includes the 1.16% surcharge), RFE-37 will trigger immediately.
• Employer EPF Share: Must be calculated strictly as [12% of PF Wage] minus [8.33% of EPS Wage].

Step 3: Upload and Protect Against Penalties

Save the corrected file in the standard `.txt` format with tilde (`~#~`) separators and attempt the upload on the Employer Portal.

Escalation Protocol: If the portal still rejects a perfectly formatted file and your statutory due date (the 15th of the month) is approaching, immediately email your jurisdictional Regional PF Commissioner (RPFC). Attach the `.txt` file, the error screenshot, and your Establishment ID. Filing this official grievance creates a digital paper trail that protects your company from Section 14B penalty damages for late remittance caused by portal issues.