Three things, on top of what the contractor files. A registration under section 3 of the OSH Code 2020, updated within 30 days of any change. A notice within 30 days of starting or stopping operations that involve contract labour. And an annual return that lists every contractor, month by month, with its headcount and the wage bills paid. Most of the data in that return sits with the contractor, so the site has to collect it all year.
Registration, and keeping it current
Every establishment the Code covers registers once, electronically, and updates the registration whenever its particulars change. Section 3(1) gives a new establishment 60 days from the date the Code applies to it. One already registered under an earlier Central labour law is deemed registered under section 3(8), but has to supply its details: rule 3(6) of the OSH (Central) Rules 2026 gives it six months from 8 May 2026, the date the rules came into force, to update its particulars in Form I.
The certificate the site receives, Form III under the Central rules, records the number of workers engaged through contractors and the number and details of the contractors. Section 3(4) and rule 3(8) require any change in the Form I particulars to be updated on the portal within 30 days [VERIFY: whether every change in contract headcount triggers an update, or only a new or departing contractor]. Section 3(7) bars an establishment that has not registered from employing anyone.
| Central rules 2026 | Tamil Nadu draft rules 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Form and portal | Form I on the Shram Suvidha portal (r.3(1)) | Form I on the DISH portal for factories, the Labour Department portal for others (r.3(2)) |
| Certificate | Form III within 7 days, or auto-generated (r.3(2)) | Issued by the registering officer |
| Late application | Late fee set by Central Government order (r.3(3)) | 25% extra within 3 months, 50% within 6, 100% after (r.3(2)(iii)) |
| Change in particulars | Within 30 days (r.3(8)) | Within 30 days (s.3(4) of the Code) |
Which column applies depends on the appropriate government. A private factory or warehouse in Tamil Nadu follows the State's rules, still in draft from April 2022 [VERIFY: whether Tamil Nadu's final OSH rules keep these provisions].
A notice when contract work starts or stops
Within 30 days, electronically. Section 5 of the Code requires the employer of an establishment "relating to contract labour" to give notice of commencement and cessation of operations. Rule 4 of the Central rules prescribes Form VI, sent to both the registering officer and the Inspector-cum-Facilitator; rule 5 of the Tamil Nadu draft prescribes Form II. A cessation notice carries a certificate that all dues to the workers have been paid and the premises are free of stored hazardous chemicals.
The Code does not say when an existing site becomes an establishment relating to contract labour, for instance on the day its first contractor starts. That is a question for the site's own counsel; a site that files the notice when it first brings in contract labour has a record either way.
The annual return
One return a year, for the calendar year, and the contract-labour part is the heaviest. Under the Central rules it is Form XVII, due by the last day of February (r.72(5) and r.74). Part I covers every establishment: headcount split between direct and contractor-engaged workers by skill and gender, a list of contractors with their Labour Identification Numbers and contract headcount, welfare amenities, industrial relations, bonus, maternity and accidents. Part III, under rule 98(9), is the principal employer's own return on Shram Suvidha.
| Form XVII Part III asks, for each month and each contractor | Where the site gets it |
|---|---|
| Name, address and LIN of the contractor | The contractor's licence and registration |
| Name of the work | The work order |
| Maximum number of contract labour employed | The contractor's muster roll, checked against the gate register |
| Amount paid against the wage bill, including EPF, ESIC and bonus, and the date | The site's own accounts payable |
| Wages paid directly by the principal employer when the contractor failed to pay, and the date | The site's own payment records, if it ever had to step in |
Tamil Nadu's draft replaces this with a single Form IX covering all four Labour Codes, due by 31 January and filed on the DISH or Labour Department portal with a copy to the Labour Bureau (r.35). Its contractor section asks for each contractor's name, address and licence number, the period and nature of the contract, days worked, man-days and the maximum number of workers employed.
What the contractor has to give the site
Most of the return comes from the contractor's records, so the site should collect them monthly, not in January.
- Licence and LIN, before the first shift. Section 54 treats engaging a contractor that needs a licence and does not have one as a contravention of the Code.
- The work-order intimation. Rule 94 of the Central rules requires the contractor to report each work order on Shram Suvidha within 15 days of receiving it, naming the principal employer, the premises, the start date, the headcount and the duration.
- Monthly maximum headcount. From the contractor's muster roll, reconciled with the gate register, because Part III and Form IX both ask for the peak.
- Wage-bill invoices with the statutory components shown. Part III asks for the amount paid including EPF, ESIC and bonus, so an invoice that bundles them into one rate leaves the site unable to fill the column.
- The half-yearly return. Rule 98(7) requires the contractor to file Form XVIII within 30 days of each half-year closing; a copy belongs in the site's file.
The calendar, and what a missed filing costs
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Within 30 days | Notice of starting or stopping operations involving contract labour | s.5; Central r.4 (Form VI); TN draft r.5 (Form II) |
| Within 30 days | Update to the registration after a change in particulars | s.3(4); Central r.3(8) |
| Six months from 8 May 2026 | Form I update for establishments registered under earlier Central labour laws | Central r.3(6) |
| 31 January | Unified annual return, Form IX | TN draft r.35 |
| Last day of February | Annual return, Form XVII including Part III | Central r.72(5), r.74, r.98(9) |
Failing to file a return or maintain a register carries a penalty of ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh under section 96(1) of the Code, and ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh for a repeat. Other contraventions by an employer or principal employer fall under the general penalty in section 94: ₹2 lakh to ₹3 lakh, and up to ₹2,000 a day if the contravention continues after conviction. Records are kept for five years under the Central rules (r.72(1)(vii)) and three under Tamil Nadu's draft (r.33(4)). Which filings a particular site owes, and under whose rules, is for its own counsel to confirm.
How Velura Services helps
Velura supplies the contractor-side data your filings need on time: headcount, wage and contribution totals, PF Form XI and half-yearly returns. With our monthly evidence pack, the principal employer's annual return is assembled from records already in hand.
Sources
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act 37 of 2020), Gazette text hosted by DGFASLI — s.2(1)(v) (establishment, from ten workers), s.3 (registration, 60 days, 30-day change intimation, deemed registration), s.5 (notice of commencement and cessation), s.54 (unlicensed contractor), s.94 (general penalty), s.96 (non-filing of returns). Opened and read.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 345(E) dated 8 May 2026 — r.1(3) (commencement on publication), r.3 (Form I, Form III, six-month update, 30-day change), r.4 (Form VI), r.72(1)(vii), (5) and (8) (records, annual return, self-declaration), r.74 (Form XVII by the last day of February), r.94 (work-order intimation), r.98(7) and (9) (Form XVIII; Form XVII Part III), Forms III and XVII. Opened and read from a mirrored copy of the Gazette [VERIFY: against the e-Gazette original].
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 2022 (draft), G.O. Ms. No. 38, 11 April 2022 — r.3 (registration, portals, late fee), r.5 (Form II), r.33(4) (three-year retention), r.35 and Form IX (unified annual return by 31 January). Opened and read. Draft only.