P.R. Ramachandra Menon, J.

This appeal is preferred by the assessee of the 1st respondent, challenging the course of proceedings leading to the fixation of liability under the relevant provisions of the EPF Act/scheme with reference to "interim relief of Rs. 300/- per month and "special allowance" of Rs. 50/- per month, agreed to be paid to the workers concerned on the basis of a 'conciliation settlement' entered into between the Management and the Unions, with the clear understanding that, the said amounts will not be reckoned for the purpose of any contribution under the EPF Act/scheme and that the same will continue only till implementation of the minimum wages as per the minimum wages notification to be issued by the Government. The factual position disclosed from the proceedings shows that the appellant is running a hospital at Trivandrum, engaging several employees. The demands submitted by Union representing the Workers with regard to the service conditions came to be negotiated in between, and finally with the intervention of the Conciliation Authority, it ended up in Annexure-1, Memorandum of Settlement dated 08/02/1999, whereby the earlier industrial settlement d