Factory licensing, the labour codes transition, pollution board consents, extended producer responsibility, product liability and MSME payment recovery.
8 regulators, 12 key statutes and 15 compliance obligations, plus 10 common dispute types and 21 due-diligence checks. 12 entries are marked for verification because the rule is state-specific, recently amended, or commenced in stages — those say what to check rather than stating a date we cannot stand behind.
| Regulator | What it decides |
|---|---|
| Chief Inspector of Factories (state) | Factory licensing, plan approval, safety, hours of work and the statutory registers and returns. |
| Labour Commissioner and Conciliation Officer (state) | Standing orders, contract labour registration and licensing, conciliation in industrial disputes. |
| Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and Employees' State Insurance Corporation (EPFO / ESIC) | Coverage, monthly contributions, inspections and section 7A determinations. |
| Central and State Pollution Control Boards (CPCB / SPCB) | Consent to establish and operate, hazardous and other waste authorisation, EPR registration and returns. |
| Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change / SEIAA (MoEFCC) | Environmental clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006 and the six-monthly compliance reporting that follows it. |
| Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) | Product certification and the growing set of Quality Control Orders that make an ISI mark mandatory. |
| Legal Metrology Department (state) | Verification and stamping of weighing and measuring instruments, packaged commodity declarations. |
| Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) | Licences for storage of petroleum, compressed gases and explosives on the plant site. |
| Statute | Year | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Factories Act | 1948 | Licence, plan approval, occupier's liability, hazardous process provisions and the statutory registers; the occupier is personally liable under section 92. |
| Code on Wages | 2019 | Consolidates minimum wages, payment of wages, bonus and equal remuneration, and introduces a statutory definition of 'wages' that changes gratuity and PF computation. — verify: The four labour codes were enacted between 2019 and 2020 and brought into force subsequently, but central and state rules — which carry most operative thresholds — have been notified in stages. Confirm what is actually in force in the client's state before advising. |
| Industrial Relations Code | 2020 | Standing orders, retrenchment and closure approvals, the threshold above which government permission is needed, and the negotiating union framework. — verify: Same commencement caveat as the Code on Wages. In several states the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 remain the operative law in practice. |
| Code on Social Security | 2020 | Consolidates PF, ESI, gratuity, maternity benefit and the building workers' welfare schemes, and extends coverage to gig and platform workers. — verify: Commencement and rules as above. |
| Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code | 2020 | Consolidates the Factories Act, Contract Labour Act and the inter-state migrant workmen framework into one registration and licensing regime. — verify: Commencement and rules as above. |
| Environment (Protection) Act | 1986 | The parent Act for the EIA Notification, hazardous waste rules and EPR; section 5 closure directions take effect at once. |
| Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act | 1974 | Consent to establish and consent to operate; operating without a subsisting consent is an offence regardless of actual discharge. |
| Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act | 1981 | The companion consent regime for emissions, with the same closure and prosecution powers. |
| Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act | 2006 | Sections 15 and 16 require payment to a registered micro or small enterprise within 45 days with compound interest at three times the bank rate on default; the Facilitation Council route is fast and hard to resist. |
| Legal Metrology Act | 2009 | Packaged Commodities Rules declarations, verification of instruments, and the compounding regime that most enforcement actually ends in. |
| Consumer Protection Act | 2019 | Chapter VI creates statutory product liability for manufacturing defect, design defect, deviation from specification and inadequate warning. |
| Bureau of Indian Standards Act | 2016 | Quality Control Orders make conformity to an Indian Standard mandatory for a widening list of goods, with a ban on manufacture, sale, import and storage of non-conforming stock. |
| Obligation | Form | When | If missed | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provident fund and ESI contributions | ECR (EPFO); ESI challan | Monthly. Deposit by the 15th of the month following the wage month. | Interest under section 7Q and damages up to 100% of the arrears under section 14B of the EPF Act; directors can be personally proceeded against. | EPF & MP Act, 1952; ESI Act, 1948 |
| Environmental statement to the pollution control board | Form V | Annual. On or before 30 September every year, for the financial year ending 31 March. | Prosecution under the Environment (Protection) Act and an adverse record when the consent comes up for renewal. | Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 Rule 14 |
| Six-monthly environmental clearance compliance report | — | Half-yearly. Submit to the MoEFCC regional office and the SPCB by 1 June and 1 December each year, covering the preceding half year. | Breach of a clearance condition, which is a ground to revoke the clearance and a standard NGT complaint. | EIA Notification, 2006 clearance conditions |
| Hazardous waste annual return | Form 4 | Annual. To the State Pollution Control Board by 30 June for the preceding financial year. | Non-renewal of the authorisation, and prosecution under the Environment (Protection) Act. | Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 |
| Extended producer responsibility returns (verify: The CPCB EPR portal deadlines and the quarterly filing requirements have shifted repeatedly since the portals opened. Confirm the current calendar for the specific waste stream.) | — | Annual. File the annual return of the EPR obligation and fulfilment on the CPCB portal for plastic packaging, e-waste or batteries, as applicable. | Environmental compensation calculated on the shortfall, which is levied per tonne and can dwarf the cost of compliance. | Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016; E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022; Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022 |
| Consent to operate renewal (verify: Validity periods differ between state boards even within the same category. Check the board's current framework and the specific consent order.) | — | On renewal. Apply before expiry; validity depends on whether the unit is Red, Orange, Green or White category. | Operating without a subsisting consent is an offence and a ground for immediate closure directions. | Water Act, 1974 section 25; Air Act, 1981 section 21 |
| Factories Act annual and half-yearly returns (verify: Form numbers and dates are set by state Factories Rules and genuinely differ. Confirm against the rules of the state where the factory is situated.) | Form 21 (annual) and Form 22 (half-yearly) in most states | Annual. Annual return by 31 January for the preceding calendar year; half-yearly return by mid-July. | Prosecution of the occupier and the manager under section 92. | Factories Act, 1948 and the state Factories Rules |
| Factory licence renewal (verify: Licence tenure options are state-specific.) | — | On renewal. Renew before expiry; several states now allow multi-year licences on payment of the corresponding fee. | Running an unlicensed factory is an offence, and insurance and clearances downstream all reference the licence. | Factories Act, 1948 section 6 and the state rules |
| Payment of statutory bonus | — | Annual. Pay within eight months of the close of the accounting year. | Recovery as an arrear of land revenue on a certificate by the appropriate government, plus prosecution. | Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 section 19 |
| Annual bonus return (verify: Several states have moved this filing to a combined annual return under a single-window portal. Confirm the state position.) | Form D | Annual. Within 30 days of the expiry of the time limit for payment of bonus. | Prosecution under section 28. | Payment of Bonus Rules, 1975 Rule 5 |
| Contract labour annual return by the principal employer (verify: Form number and date depend on whether the central or a state rule applies, and several states have consolidated returns.) | Form XXV (central rules) | Annual. Within the period prescribed after the end of the year to which it relates. | Prosecution under section 23; and unregistered contract labour makes the principal employer liable for wages and contributions directly. | Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 and the applicable rules |
| Half-yearly return of outstanding dues to micro and small enterprises | MSME Form 1 | Half-yearly. By 31 October for April to September and by 30 April for October to March, for amounts outstanding beyond 45 days. | Penalty on the company and every officer in default under section 405 of the Companies Act. | Companies Act, 2013 section 405; MSME Development Act, 2006 |
| Pay registered micro and small suppliers within 45 days | — | Monthly. Within the agreed period, which cannot exceed 45 days from acceptance or deemed acceptance. | Compound interest at three times the bank rate, an award from the Facilitation Council that needs a 75% pre-deposit to challenge, and disallowance of the expenditure under the Income-tax Act. | MSME Development Act, 2006 sections 15 and 16 |
| Verification and stamping of weights and measures (verify: Verification periodicity depends on the class of instrument and the state rules.) | — | Annual. Get every weighing and measuring instrument used in trade verified and stamped before the stamp expires. | Use of an unverified instrument is an offence, usually compounded, but repeat offences are prosecuted. | Legal Metrology Act, 2009 section 24 |
| Boiler certificate and pressure vessel inspection (verify: Inspection intervals and renewal dates are set by the state boiler inspectorate.) | — | Annual. Annual inspection and renewal of the certificate before expiry. | Operating a boiler without a valid certificate is an offence and voids insurance cover after an incident. | Boilers Act, 1923 |
| Dispute | Forum | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial disputes and terminations | Conciliation Officer, then the Labour Court or Industrial Tribunal | Reinstatement with back wages remains a live remedy where the enquiry was defective. |
| PF and ESI determination proceedings | Section 7A authority under the EPF Act, appeal to the CGIT-cum-Labour Court | Allowance re-characterisation and contractor liability are the recurring issues. |
| Environmental closure and compensation | Appellate Authority under the Water and Air Acts, and the National Green Tribunal | Environmental compensation is levied on a formula, so the fight is usually about the input numbers. |
| Product liability claims | District, State and National Consumer Commissions | Chapter VI of the 2019 Act reaches manufacturers directly, without privity. |
| MSME payment references | Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, conciliation then arbitration | A challenge to the award requires a 75% pre-deposit, which is what makes the route so effective for suppliers. |
| Commercial supply disputes | Arbitration or the Commercial Courts | Price variation, rejection of goods and termination for convenience. |
| Factory accident prosecutions | Magistrate's court under section 92 of the Factories Act | The occupier is liable personally unless a director has been nominated in the prescribed manner. |
| Legal metrology and BIS prosecutions | Magistrate's court, usually resolved by compounding | Repeat offences cannot be compounded, which is where a pattern of small breaches becomes serious. |
| Land allotment and resumption disputes | High Court writ jurisdiction against the industrial development corporation | Non-utilisation and change of use are the usual grounds for resumption. |
| Employees' compensation claims | Commissioner for Employees' Compensation | Runs alongside ESI; the two are alternatives, not cumulative. |
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