The OSH Code 2020 runs two tracks. Penalties for lapses such as missing registers or unfiled returns are decided by a government officer after an enquiry, with an appeal within sixty days. Offences such as accidents caused by a breach go to a magistrate's court. Before either, an employer usually gets thirty days to put the breach right, and most cases can be compounded for 50% or 75% of the maximum.
Penalty or offence
The Code names which provisions are "penalties" and which are punishable offences, and they are decided by different people. Section 111 lets the appropriate Government appoint an officer, not below Under Secretary rank or the State equivalent, to hold an enquiry and impose the penalties in sections 12(3), 94, 96, 97, 99 and 106 and section 114(3). Everything else is prosecuted, and section 110(3) says no court below a Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of the First Class may try it.
| Provision | What it covers | Amount | Decided by |
|---|---|---|---|
| s.94 | General contravention by the employer or principal employer, where no other penalty is provided | ₹2 lakh to ₹3 lakh, plus up to ₹2,000 a day if it continues after conviction | Adjudicating officer |
| s.96 | Failing to maintain or produce a register or record, or to file a return | ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh | Adjudicating officer |
| s.97(1) | Contravening a provision, rule or employment order | ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh | Adjudicating officer |
| s.99 | Failing to furnish a plan, return, notice, register or report on time | ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh | Adjudicating officer |
| s.106 | An employee's own contravention of a duty on employees | Up to ₹10,000 | Adjudicating officer |
| s.95 | Obstructing an inspector, refusing entry or documents | Up to three months, or a fine up to ₹1 lakh, or both | Court |
| s.103(1) | A breach that causes an accident: death; serious bodily injury | Up to two years or a fine of at least ₹5 lakh; up to one year or ₹2 lakh to ₹4 lakh | Court |
Under section 103, the court can direct that at least half of the fine goes to the victim, or to the victim's legal heirs if the victim has died. Repeat convictions under most of these sections carry higher amounts, and some carry imprisonment.
Thirty days to comply first
Usually. Section 110(1) bars the Inspector-cum-Facilitator from starting a prosecution until the employer has had a notice and thirty days to comply, and if the employer complies, no proceeding starts. There are two exceptions in the proviso: no opportunity is given where there has been an accident, or where a violation of the same nature is repeated within three years of the first. Tamil Nadu's draft OSH rules repeat the same condition (r.148(8)).
A complaint must then be made within six months of the inspector learning of the offence (s.110(2)). For a continuing offence, time runs from every point at which it continues. Where the employer was given extra time to comply, it runs from the end of that time.
How the adjudicating officer decides
Like a short trial on papers and witnesses. Rule 177 of the OSH (Central) Rules 2026 sets the procedure where the Central Government is the appropriate Government:
- Complaint and summons. The Inspector-cum-Facilitator files a complaint; if the officer is satisfied on the evidence, a summons issues with a date to appear (r.177(1)).
- Plea. If the employer pleads guilty, the officer imposes the penalty. If not, the enquiry proceeds (r.177(3)).
- Evidence. Documents and witnesses on oath from both sides, with cross-examination; hearings can be held by video conference, and no more than three adjournments are allowed (r.177(4), (8)).
- A reasoned order. The order records the complaint, the parties, the provision, the pleadings, the evidence, the findings and the penalty (r.177(6)). An employer who misses two dates without cause can be heard ex parte (r.177(7)).
- Appeal. Within sixty days of receiving the order, to an appellate authority of Deputy Secretary rank or the State equivalent, which must decide within sixty days of receiving the appeal (s.111(3)–(4); r.177(14)).
Not paying matters. A penalty unpaid ninety days after the order is received becomes an offence in its own right, with a fine of ₹25,000 to ₹2 lakh (s.111(5)).
Compounding
Most cases can be settled for a fixed share of the maximum, before or after the enquiry or prosecution starts. Section 114(1) allows a penalty to be compounded for 50% of the maximum penalty, and an offence for 75% of the maximum fine. The compoundable list includes sections 94, 96, 97, 99 and 106 and serious-injury cases under section 103(1)(b). Death under section 103(1)(a) is not on it.
- The steps. Under the Central Rules, an application in Form XXVI, a compounding notice in Form XXVII, and payment within fifteen days of the notice. A composition certificate follows within ten days; if the amount is not paid, prosecution follows after a month (r.182). Tamil Nadu's draft uses Form XXX, with the decision in fifteen days, payment in fifteen days and a certificate in seven (r.148) [VERIFY: whether Tamil Nadu has since notified final rules].
- The effect. Once compounded, the employer is discharged and no further proceeding is taken for that penalty or offence (s.114(2)).
- The limit. No compounding for a second or subsequent penalty or offence within three years of one that was compounded or led to a conviction (s.114(5)).
- Where the money goes. Compounding amounts and penalties go to the social security fund for unorganised workers (s.111(6), s.114(4), s.115).
Who is liable, and where contract labour fits
The company, and the people in charge of it. Where a company commits an offence, section 109 deems every person in charge of and responsible for its business at the time guilty as well, unless they prove it happened without their knowledge or despite due diligence. A director or officer whose consent, connivance or neglect is proved is liable in their own right. Section 94 names "the employer or the principal employer", so a contravention involving a contractor's crew can reach the site as well as the contractor. Which of them a particular notice should be answered by is a question for the site's own counsel.
How Velura Services helps
When an inspection notice touches our crew's records, we put the registers, returns and wage evidence for our workers in order inside the thirty days the Code allows, and give the site a copy of what we filed. Our monthly evidence pack is kept so that the records an inspector usually asks for first are ready on the day of the visit.
Sources
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act 37 of 2020), Gazette text hosted by DGFASLI. Sections cited: s.94–97, s.99, s.103 (accidents causing death or serious injury; half the fine to the victim), s.106 (employees), s.109 (companies), s.110 (thirty days to comply; six-month limitation; trial court), s.111 (adjudicating officer; sixty-day appeal; non-payment), s.114 (compounding at 50% and 75%; discharge; three-year bar), s.115 (social security fund). Opened and read.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 345(E) dated 8 May 2026, mirrored copy of the Gazette. Rules cited: r.177 (manner of holding enquiry; appeal), r.182 (compounding; Forms XXVI and XXVII), r.183 (social security fund). Opened and read [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, Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary No. 216. Rule 148 (compounding; Form XXX; opportunity to comply before prosecution). Opened and read.