TL;DR
- An Indian employer maintains six statutory registers and files two annual returns, all of them prescribed by the 2026 Central Rules made under the four labour codes. The registers run from the Employee Register in Form I to the Register of Accidents in Form XIX, each preserved for five years after the last entry. Both annual returns run on the calendar year and fall due by the last day of February.
Last updated: 16 October 2026
Quick Answer: Six registers and two annual returns, all prescribed by the 2026 Central Rules under the four labour codes. The registers run from the Employee Register in Form I to the Register of Accidents in Form XIX. Each is preserved for five years after the last entry, and both returns fall due by the last day of February.
The set of records has barely changed. The instrument behind every one of them has. The Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 superseded seventeen earlier rule sets, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 superseded fifteen more. Both lists name the Ease of Compliance to Maintain Register rules of 2017, which is where the combined registers in most templates come from.
This page carries the register and return matrix. The thresholds and the deduction rates that sit beside it are set out in statutory compliance in human resources and payroll.
Which Registers Must an Employer Keep Under the 2026 Central Rules?
Six. Three sit in the Code on Wages rules, two in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions rules, and one in the Social Security rules. Every retention period is five years from the last entry, not from the end of the year.
| Register | Governing provision | Who maintains it | Frequency of entry | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee Register (Form I) | Rule 51(1)(i), Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026, under section 50(1) of the Code on Wages, 2019 | Employer of the establishment | On engagement, then kept current | Five years after the date of the last entry, Rule 51(4) |
| Attendance Register-cum-Muster Roll (Form IX) | Rule 51(1)(iii), Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer of the establishment | Daily, across every wage period | Five years after the date of the last entry, Rule 51(4) |
| Register of Wages, Overtime, Advances, Fines and Deductions (Form IV) | Rule 51(1)(ii), with fines under Rule 51(2) and deductions under Rule 51(3) | Employer of the establishment | Every wage period | Five years after the date of the last entry, Rule 51(4) |
| Register of Women Employees (Form XXII) | Rule 53(1)(a)(iv), Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer of an establishment in which women are employed | Kept up to date and available for inspection in working hours | Five calendar years from the date of the last entry, Rule 53(1)(e) |
| Register of Leave with Wages (Form XX) | Rule 76(1), Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer, for every employee | Continuous, and shared with the employee once in a calendar year on demand | Five years after the last entry, Rule 76(2), and then only on transfer to the new register |
| Register of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences (Form XIX) | Rule 75, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, under section 33(a)(v) of the OSH Code, 2020 | Employer of the establishment | On each accident or dangerous occurrence | Five calendar years from the date of the last entry, Rule 72(1)(vii) |
Why Do Three Rule Sets Prescribe the Same Three Registers?
Each code needed its own hook, and the drafters then deemed one set of books to answer all three. The OSH rules carry their own employee register, muster roll and wage register in Forms XIII, XIV and XV, part of the consolidation of the sectoral safety rule sets. Rule 72(3) of the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 then deems the Code on Wages registers and wage slips to be maintained under the OSH rules as well.
The proviso to Rule 53(1)(a) of the Social Security rules does the same thing in the other direction. An establishment governed by the Code on Wages, 2019 or the OSH Code, 2020 is deemed to maintain Forms I, IX and IV under the Social Security rules too. One Employee Register, three codes satisfied.
Which Returns Must an Employer File, and by When?
Seven entries, of three different ranks. The annual returns run on the calendar year and fall due at the end of February. The half-yearly return belongs to the contractor rather than the employer, and the appointment letter and the wage slip are records issued to the employee rather than filings.
| Return or issued record | Governing provision | Who files or issues it | Frequency | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of appointment | Rule 6, OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer | Before the employee is engaged | To the employee, in the format set out in the rule, which includes the Labour Identification Number and the Universal Account Number |
| Wage slip (Form V, and Form XVI under the OSH rules) | Rule 52, Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026, under section 50(3); Rule 72(2), OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer | Every wage period, on or before payment of wages | To each employee, electronically or in physical form |
| Unified annual return (Form XVII) | Rule 74, OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer of the establishment | Once for each calendar year | Electronically to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator having jurisdiction, to reach on or before the last day of February |
| Provident fund and state insurance self-declaration (Part IV of Form XVII) | Rule 72(8), OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer to which Chapter III and Chapter IV of the Code on Social Security, 2020 apply | With the annual return | Electronically, inside Form XVII |
| Works Committee particulars | Rule 5(20), Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer directed to constitute a Works Committee | With the annual return | Inside the unified annual return under the OSH rules |
| Unified annual return (Form XXIII) | Rule 53(5)(a), Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 | Employer to which Chapter V and Chapter VI of the Code apply | Once a year, for the preceding year | Uploaded on the Ministry of Labour and Employment portal on or before 28 or 29 February |
| Annual return on contract labour (FORM-XVII, Part III) | Rule 98(9), OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 | The principal employer, in its own right | Once a year | Electronically to the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), by the end of February |
| Half-yearly return (Form XVIII) | Rule 98(7), OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 | The contractor, not the principal employer | Twice a year, January to June and July to December | Electronically to the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), not later than thirty days from the close of the half year |
What Does Form XVII Actually Ask For?
Rule 74 names the subjects: category of employees, health and welfare facilities, retrenchment or layoffs, bonus and maternity benefits. Two further obligations ride inside the same form rather than arriving as separate filings. Rule 72(8) puts the provident fund and state insurance self-declaration in Part IV, and Rule 5(20) of the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 puts the Works Committee particulars there as well.
Which Return Does the Principal Employer Owe on Contract Labour?
Part III of FORM-XVII, under rule 98(9), and it is easy to miss because the contractor's own return is more widely known. A principal employer in the Central sphere files Part III annually to the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) by the end of February, covering the contract labour engaged through its contractors. Rule 98(7) separately puts FORM-XVIII on the contractor.
Both obligations can exist on the same site at the same time, and discharging one does not discharge the other. The rule carves out work done on a result contract, so establish which of your engagements that covers before concluding Part III is not owed.
Which Return Falls Due When an Establishment Closes?
A further return, outside the annual cycle. Rule 72(6) of the OSH rules requires it within one month of a sale or abandonment, or within four months of a discontinuance, covering the period from the end of the preceding year to that date. Rule 53(5)(b) of the Social Security rules imposes the same two periods for Form XXIII.
Do the 2026 Central Rules Apply to Your Establishment?
Only where the Central Government is the appropriate Government. Section 2(d)(i) of the OSH Code, 2020 defines that sphere, and these are the limbs that catch most employers rather than the complete list:
- establishments carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government;
- railways including metro railways, mines, oil fields and major ports;
- air transport service and telecommunication service;
- a banking company or an insurance company established by a Central Act;
- a central public sector undertaking and its subsidiary companies;
- the contractors working for any of the above.
Section 2(d)(ii) sends everything else to the State. For a factory, a motor transport undertaking, a plantation, a newspaper establishment and any establishment not named in clause (i), the appropriate Government is the State Government where it is situated. An Explanation settles the point for factories.
What Stays the Same Across Every State?
The register set, because it is fixed by the codes rather than by the rules. Section 50(1) of the Code on Wages, 2019 requires a register of persons employed, a muster roll and a wage register. Section 33 of the OSH Code, 2020 requires records of hours worked, rest days, wages paid, leave, overtime, attendance and dangerous occurrences, plus notices, wage slips and a periodic return.
What changes by State is the form number and the portal. LexComply keeps the underlying rule library current across both spheres, so the applicable form is read from the rules rather than from a template.
How Long Must Each Register Be Preserved, and Where?
Five years from the last entry, within three kilometres of the workplace. Rule 72(1)(vii) of the OSH rules and Rule 53(1)(e) of the Social Security rules both read "five calendar years from the date of last entry". Rule 51(4) of the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 reads "five years after the date of last entry".
Rule 72(4) of the OSH rules fixes the location. Registers are kept complete and up to date at an office or the nearest convenient building within the precincts of the workplace, or at a place within a radius of three kilometres. Rule 53(3) of the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 repeats the radius.
What Is the Penalty for Not Maintaining a Register or Filing a Return?
Not less than ₹50,000 and up to ₹1,00,000 under the OSH Code. Section 96(1) attaches the penalty to three distinct failures: omitting to maintain a register or other document, omitting to file a return, and omitting to produce a register, plan, record or report. Section 96(2) raises the ceiling to ₹2,00,000 on a second conviction under the same provision.
The Code on Wages treats the same default more lightly. Section 54(2) sets a fine which may extend to ₹10,000 for non-maintenance or improper maintenance of records, and that figure is a ceiling with no floor.
Does an Inspector Have to Warn You First?
Under the Code on Wages, yes. Section 54(3) requires the Inspector-cum-Facilitator to issue a written direction with a time period for compliance before beginning a prosecution for a record default, and no prosecution follows if the employer complies within that period. The opportunity is withdrawn where a violation of the same nature recurs within five years of the first one.
That single sentence is why evidence matters more than intent. An employer that can produce the register, the entry and the date inside the direction period closes the exposure. Allocating each register to a named owner inside a central compliance record that holds the obligation, the owner and the evidence is what makes that demonstrable, and a labour-law query assistant answers the applicability question behind it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Still using the 2017 combined registers. The Ease of Compliance to Maintain Register rules of 2017 are named in the supersession list of both the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 and the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026. Forms A to E from that rule set are not the current formats.
- Quoting ₹10,000 as the penalty for a missing register. Section 54(2) of the Code on Wages, 2019 caps that fine at ₹10,000. Section 96(1) of the OSH Code, 2020 sets a floor of not less than ₹50,000, rising to ₹1,00,000, for the same failure. A floor is not a ceiling.
- Running the annual return on the financial year. Rule 74 of the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 runs Form XVII on the calendar year, reaching the Inspector-cum-Facilitator by the last day of February. A 30 September or 31 October date belongs to a different filing.
- Filing the half-yearly return as the principal employer. Rule 98(7) of the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 places Form XVIII on the contractor, within thirty days of the close of each half year.
- Reading Central form numbers into a factory. Section 2(d)(ii) of the OSH Code, 2020 makes the State Government the appropriate Government for a factory, so the register set holds but the forms are the State's.
- Destroying the leave register at five years. Rule 76(2) preserves Form XX for five years after the last entry, and then forbids destruction unless the record has been transferred to the new register.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is general information on Indian statutory record-keeping obligations and is not legal advice. Applicability turns on the appropriate Government, the sector and the headcount of each establishment, so obtain professional advice on your own facts before acting.
