What section 31 does
Applies a graduated enforcement ladder to contraventions not specifically covered by section 30.
2026 legal overlay: Effective 22 June 2026, section 31 follows the same advisory → warning → monetary-penalty ladder for contraventions for which section 30 does not provide a penalty.
Connected instrument: 2026 advisory-warning-penalty framework
Finin2min practical reading
- Identify the apprentice category, trade, establishment jurisdiction and applicable portal before applying the provision.
- Separate statutory apprenticeship from internships, probation, traineeships and ordinary employment.
- Do not treat scheme reimbursement as a substitute for the employer’s underlying statutory obligations.
- Preserve the contract, approvals, portal trail and training evidence as one auditable file.
Employer control and evidence pack
- Executed/registered contract and portal acknowledgement
- Training plan, attendance/work diary and supervisor records
- Stipend bank/DBT evidence where relevant
- Adviser approval, correspondence or order where the section requires it
Statutory text extract
Extracted from the bundled official/consolidated source. For sections amended in 2026, the current overlay above controls over older consolidated wording.
31. Penalty where no specific penalty is provided.—If any employer or any other person contravenes any provision of this Act for which no punishment is provided in section 30, he shall be punishable with fine4[which shall not be less than one thousand rupees but may extend to three thousand rupees].
Compliance consequence
Failure should be tested against sections 30, 31 and 31A as in force from 22 June 2026, alongside contract termination/compensation consequences and any portal or scheme action.