S.1 Short title, extent and commencement.

       (a) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Provident Funds Act, 1998.
       (b) It extends to the whole of the Jammu and Kashmir State.
       [(c) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, appoint.]

S.2 Definitions.

       In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
       (a) "compulsory deposit" means a subscription to, or deposit in, a Provident Fund which, under the rules of the Fund, is not until the happening of some specified contingency, repayable on demand otherwise than for the purpose of the payment of premia in respect of a policy of life insurance or the payment of subscriptions or premia in respect of a family pension fund, and includes any contribution and any interest or increment which has accrued under the rules of the Fund on any such subscription, deposit or contribution, and also any such subscription, deposit, contribution, and interest or increment remaining to the credit of the subscriber or depositor after the happening of any such contingency;
       (b) "contribution" means any amount credited in a Provident Fun

S.3 Protection of compulsory deposits.

       (1) A compulsory deposit in any Government Provident Fund shall not in any way be capable of being assigned or charged and shall not be liable to attachment under any decree or order of any Civil, Revenue or Criminal Court in respect of any debt or liability incurred by the subscriber or depositor, and neither the official assignee nor any receiver appointed under Order XXI-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1977, shall be entitled to, or have any claim on any such compulsory deposit.
       (2) any sum standing to the credit of any subscriber to, or depositor in, any such fund at the time of his decease any payable under the rules of the fund to any dependent of the subscriber or depositor, or to such person as may be authorised by law to receive payment on his behalf, shall, subject to any deduction authorised by this Act and, save where the dependent is the widow or child of the subscri

S.4 Provisions regarding repayments.

       (1) When under the rules of any Government Provident Fund the sum standing to the credit of any subscriber or depositor, or the balance thereof after the making of any deduction authorised by this Act, has become payable, the officer whose duty it is to make the payment shall pay the sum or balance, as the case may be, to the subscriber or depositor, or if he is dead, shall-
       (a) if the sum or balance, or any part thereof vests in a dependent under the provisions of section 3, pay the same to the dependent or to such person as may be authorised by law to receive payment on his behalf; or
       (b) if the whole sum or balance, as the case may be does not exceed five thousand rupees, pay the same, or any part thereof, which is not payable under clause (a), to any person nominated to receive it under the rules of the Fund, or, if no person is so n

S.5 Rights of nominees.

       Subject to the provisions of this Act, but otherwise notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force or any disposition, whether testamentary' or otherwise, by a subscriber to, or depositor in a Government Provident Fund of the sum standing to his credit in the Fund, or of any part thereof, any nomination, duly made in accordance with the rules of the fund, which purports to confer upon any person the right to receive the whole or any part of such sum on the death of the subscriber or depositor, shall be deemed to confer such right absolutely until such nomination is varied by another nomination made in like manner or is expressly cancelled by the subscriber or depositor by notice given in such manner and to such authority as is prescribed by those rules.
       (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Succession Certificate Act, 1977, any such person shall,

S.6 Power to make deduction.

       When the sum standing to the credit of any subscriber or depositor in any Government Provident Fund which is a Contributory Provident Fund becomes payable, there may, if the authority specified in this behalf in the rules of the Fund so directs, be deducted therefrom and paid to Government-
       (a) any amount due under a liability incurred by the subscriber or depositor to Government but not exceeding in any case the total amount of any contributions credited to the account of the subscriber or depositor and of any interest or increment which has accrued on such contributions; or
       (b) where the subscriber or depositor has been dismissed form his employment for any reasons specified in this behalf in the rules of the Fund, or where he has resigned such employment within five years of the commencement thereof, the whole or any part of the amoun

S.7 Protection of acts done in good faith.

No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

S.8 Power to apply the Act to the Provident Fund.

       (1) The Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, direct that the provisions of this Act shall apply to any Provident Fund established for the benefit of its employees by any local authority within the meaning of the Local Authorities Act, 1977, and, on the making of such declaration, this Act shall apply accordingly, as if such Provident Fund were a Government Provident Fund and such local authority were the Government.
       (2) The Government may, [by notification in the Government Gazette], direct that the provisions of this Act shall apply to any provident fund established for the benefit of the employees of any of the institutions specified in the Schedule and on the making of such declaration, this Act shall apply accordingly, as if such Provident Fund were a Government Provident Fund and the authority having the custody of the Fund were the Government:
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