Hyderabad, June 28 -- The Telangana High Court has pulled up the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for failing to refund Rs 4.05 crore to a company despite an appellate authority setting aside the demand against it.

Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka directed the EPFO to refund the amount along with 9 percent annual interest, holding that retaining the money without any stay order from a higher court was unlawful.

The dispute arose after EPFO authorities issued a demand notice to Virtusa Consulting Services Limited, alleging that the company had underpaid provident fund contributions by excluding components such as special allowance, conveyance allowance and food coupons from basic wages while calculating PF contributions.

Following...