Are provident fund contributions compulsory?

If your employer offers a provident fund, and, you, as a new employee, are eligible to join, then you must join the fund. If you are already an employee of the company when the provident fund is launched, then you are not obliged to join the fund. Who contributes what, and how much, is determined by the special fund rules. In a provident fund it is usually the employer who contributes, as presently only the employer gets the deduction on provident fund contributions. But some funds do provide for an employee contribution.