A sub-committee of the country's biggest provident fund, Employees Provident Fund Organisation, is believed to have recommended slashing of interest rates to eight per cent for its 3 crore (30 million) subscribers, even as some trade unions pitched for hiking the rate to 12 per cent from the present 9.5 per cent.

The suggestion of Finance and Investment Sub-committee will now be referred to the Central Board of Trustees of Employees Provident Fund Organisation, which will meet on Wednesday to consider the revision in rate among other things, official sources told PTI in New Delhi.

Once CBT approves the proposal, it will be referred to the finance and labour ministries for their nod, they added.

The proposal of the EPFO panel assumes importance in the wake of finance ministry's views on lowering EPF rate as there is no instrument in the market that could promise such high rate.

However, the labour ministry stuck to the high rates considering the EPFO's comfortable reserve position.