Section 111: Power of officers of appropriate Government to impose penalty in certain cases
Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
Section 111 — Defines the statutory power concerning officers of appropriate government to impose penalty in certain cases and the conditions attached to its exercise. Key operative text: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 110, for the purpose of imposing penalty under sub-section (3) of section 12 or sections 94, 96, 97, 99, 106 and sub-section (3) of section 114, the appropriate Government may…
All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.
Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗
Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does
Operative clauses
- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 110, for the purpose of imposing penalty under sub-section (3) of section 12 or sections 94, 96, 97, 99, 106 and sub-section (3) of section 114, the appropriate Government may appoint any officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India or an officer of equivalent rank in the State Government, as the case may be, for holding enquiry in such…
- (2) While holding the enquiry, the officer referred to in sub-section (1) shall have the power to summon and enforce attendance of any person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case to give evidence or to produce any document, which in the opinion of such officer, may be useful for or relevant to the subject-matter of the enquiry and if, on such enquiry, he is satisfied that the person has…
- (3) Any person aggrieved by an order made by the officer under sub-section (2) may prefer an appeal, in such form and manner and accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed, to the appellate authority to be appointed by the appropriate Government from amongst officers not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India or an officer of equivalent rank in the State Government, as the case may be,…
- (5) Where a person fails to pay the penalty so imposed within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the copy of the order, he shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees but which may extend up to two lakh rupees.
- (6) The amount of penalty imposed and received under this section shall be credited to the fund established under sub-section (1) of section 115.
Provisos, explanations & qualifications
- No proviso/explanation was separately extracted from this section text.
Thresholds and timelines in the text
- (3) Any person aggrieved by an order made by the officer under sub-section (2) may prefer an appeal, in such form and manner and accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed, to the appellate authority to be appointed by the appropriate Government from amongst officers not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India or an officer of…
- (4) The appellate authority may, after giving the parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard, pass such order as he thinks fit, confirming, modifying or setting aside the order appealed against, within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of appeal.
- (5) Where a person fails to pay the penalty so imposed within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the copy of the order, he shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees but which may extend up to two lakh rupees.
Actors expressly appearing in the text
Appropriate Government, Central Government, State Government, Authority / officer
Full statutory text — Section 111
111. Power of officers of appropriate Government to impose penalty in certain cases.—(1)
Notwithstanding anything contained in section 110, for the purpose of imposing penalty under
sub-section (3) of section 12 or sections 94, 96, 97, 99, 106 and sub-section (3) of section 114, the
appropriate Government may appoint any officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the
Government of India or an officer of equivalent rank in the State Government, as the case may be, for
holding enquiry in such manner, as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
(2) While holding the enquiry, the officer referred to in sub-section (1) shall have the power to
summon and enforce attendance of any person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case to
give evidence or to produce any document, which in the opinion of such officer, may be useful for or
relevant to the subject-matter of the enquiry and if, on such enquiry, he is satisfied that the person has
committed any offence under the provisions referred to in sub-section (1), he may impose such penalty as
he thinks fit in accordance with the provisions of that sub-section.
(3) Any person aggrieved by an order made by the officer under sub-section (2) may prefer an appeal,
in such form and manner and accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed, to the appellate authority to
be appointed by the appropriate Government from amongst officers not below the rank of Deputy
Secretary to the Government of India or an officer of equivalent rank in the State Government, as the case
may be, within sixty days from the date on which the copy of the order made by the officer referred in
sub-section (1) is received by the aggrieved person.
(4) The appellate authority may, after giving the parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard,
pass such order as he thinks fit, confirming, modifying or setting aside the order appealed against, within
a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of appeal.
(5) Where a person fails to pay the penalty so imposed within a period of ninety days from the date of
receipt of the copy of the order, he shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five
thousand rupees but which may extend up to two lakh rupees.
(6) The amount of penalty imposed and received under this section shall be credited to the fund
established under sub-section (1) of section 115.How to apply this provision
- Primary statutory test — (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 110, for the purpose of imposing penalty under sub-section (3) of section 12 or sections 94, 96, 97, 99, 106 and sub-section (3) of section 114, the appropriate Government may appoint any officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India or an officer of equivalent rank in the State Government, as the case may be, for holding enquiry in such…
- Additional operative limb — (2) While holding the enquiry, the officer referred to in sub-section (1) shall have the power to summon and enforce attendance of any person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case to give evidence or to produce any document, which in the opinion of such officer, may be useful for or relevant to the subject-matter of the enquiry and if, on such enquiry, he is satisfied that the person has…
- Numerical or timing control — (3) Any person aggrieved by an order made by the officer under sub-section (2) may prefer an appeal, in such form and manner and accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed, to the appellate authority to be appointed by the appropriate Government from amongst officers not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India or an officer of…
- Central Rule mapping — 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
- Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Appropriate Government, Central Government, State Government, Authority / officer.
Rules, forms and cross-references
Forms mapped
No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.
Other sections cited in this text
Related Labour Hub resources
A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.
Worked example
When an event triggers power of officers of appropriate government to impose penalty in certain cases, record the trigger date, competent authority, prescribed rule/form, filing or decision step, service/acknowledgement and final outcome. A statutory point to test is: “(3) Any person aggrieved by an order made by the officer under sub-section (2) may prefer an appeal, in such form and manner and accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed, to the appellate authority to be appointed by the appropriate Government from amongst officers not below ” Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182.
Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.
Q&A — Section 111
What does Section 111 of the OSHWC Code cover?
Section 111 — Defines the statutory power concerning officers of appropriate government to impose penalty in certain cases and the conditions attached to its exercise. Key operative text: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 110, for the purpose of imposing penalty under sub-section (3) of section 12 or sections 94, 96, 97, 99, 106 and sub-section (3) of section 114, the appropriate Government may…
What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 111?
The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 110, for the purpose of imposing penalty under sub-section (3) of section 12 or sections 94, 96, 97, 99, 106 and sub-section (3) of section 114, the appropriate Government may appoint any officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India or an officer of equivalent rank in the State Government, as the case may be, for holding enquiry in such…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.
Does Section 111 contain a proviso or explanation?
No standalone proviso or explanation was extracted from this section text. Check the full text below for clause-level qualifications.
What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 111?
The provision contains this numerical/time expression: “(3) Any person aggrieved by an order made by the officer under sub-section (2) may prefer an appeal, in such form and manner and accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed, to the appellate authority to be appointed by the appropriate Government from amongst officers not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India or an officer of…” Apply it only in the clause and context in which it appears.
Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 111?
The current concordance maps Section 111 to Central Rule(s) 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182.
Is Section 111 currently operative?
All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.
Source & verification trail
Act: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗
Central Rules: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026 ↗
Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗
Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.