Rule 43: Penalty

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Rule 43 — Governs penalty and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this rule. Key operative text: (1) An assessing officer, if it appears to him that an employer has not paid the cess within the date as specified in the assessment order or has paid less cess, including the cess deducted at source or paid in advance, shall…

Full notified rule textG.S.R. 344(E), 8 May 2026Source checked: 20 August 2026

Rule status

Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 were finally notified under G.S.R. 344(E), 8 May 2026. The Central Rules must be read with the Code and any later amendment/corrigendum.

Official Gazette

Open the notified Rules ↗

Finin2min analysis — operative rule mechanics

Operative clauses

(1) An assessing officer, if it appears to him that an employer has not paid the cess within the date as specified in the assessment order or has paid less cess, including the cess deducted at source or paid in advance, shall issue a notice to such employer that it shall be deemed to be in arrears and such assessing officer may, after such inquiry as it deems fit, impose on such employer, a penalty not exceeding…
Provided that before imposing any such penalty, such employer shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard and if after such hearing the assessing officer is satisfied that the default was for any good and sufficient reason, no penalty shall be imposed on such employer.
A copy of such order shall be endorsed to the employer, cess-collector and to the secretary, Building Workers‘ Welfare Board.

Provisos / explanations

Provided that before imposing any such penalty, such employer shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard and if after such hearing the assessing officer is satisfied that the default was for any good and sufficient reason, no penalty shall be imposed on such employer.

Thresholds & timelines

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in this rule text.

Mapped Code sections

Section 104

Full notified text — Rule 43

English rule text transcribed from the final official 2026 Gazette PDF; layout is normalised for web reading. The Gazette controls.

43. Penalty.–(1) An assessing officer, if it appears to him that an employer has not paid the cess
within the date as specified in the assessment order or has paid less cess, including the cess deducted
at source or paid in advance, shall issue a notice to such employer that it shall be deemed to be in
arrears and such assessing officer may, after such inquiry as it deems fit, impose on such employer, a
penalty not exceeding such amount of cess:

    Provided that before imposing any such penalty, such employer shall be given a reasonable
opportunity of being heard and if after such hearing the assessing officer is satisfied that the default
was for any good and sufficient reason, no penalty shall be imposed on such employer.

(2) If any penalty is imposed on the employer or the notice for imposing the penalty is withdrawn, as
mentioned in sub-rule (1), the assessing officer will pass a speaking order in this regard stating the
reasons thereof. A copy of such order shall be endorsed to the employer, cess-collector and to the
secretary, Building Workers‘ Welfare Board.

Application and evidence

Primary statutory test — (1) An assessing officer, if it appears to him that an employer has not paid the cess within the date as specified in the assessment order or has paid less cess, including the cess deducted at source or paid in advance, shall issue a notice to such employer that it shall be deemed to be in arrears and such assessing officer may, after such inquiry as it deems fit, impose on such employer, a penalty not exceeding…
Additional operative limb — Provided that before imposing any such penalty, such employer shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard and if after such hearing the assessing officer is satisfied that the default was for any good and sufficient reason, no penalty shall be imposed on such employer.
Qualification / exception to test — Provided that before imposing any such penalty, such employer shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard and if after such hearing the assessing officer is satisfied that the default was for any good and sufficient reason, no penalty shall be imposed on such employer.
Code Section mapping — 104. 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: Employer, Worker.

Cross-references & prescribed forms

Sections cited/mapped

Section 104

Forms

No form is directly mapped in the current rule register.

Worked example

When an event triggers penalty, record the trigger date, competent authority, prescribed rule/form, filing or decision step, service/acknowledgement and final outcome. A statutory point to test is: “(1) An assessing officer, if it appears to him that an employer has not paid the cess within the date as specified in the assessment order or has paid less cess, including the cess deducted at source or paid in advance, shall issue a notice to such employer that it shall be deeme” Also test the express qualification/proviso before concluding the result. Reconcile the mapped Code Section(s) 104.

Illustrative only. Use the exact notified rule, prescribed form and competent authority.

Q&A — Rule 43

What is Rule 43 of the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026?

What does Rule 43 require or permit?

A principal operative clause extracted from the notified rule is: “(1) An assessing officer, if it appears to him that an employer has not paid the cess within the date as specified in the assessment order or has paid less cess, including the cess deducted at source or paid in advance, shall issue a notice to such employer that it shall be deemed to be in arrears and such assessing officer may, after such inquiry as it deems fit, impose on such employer, a penalty not exceeding…” Read it with all sub-rules and provisos below.

Does Rule 43 contain a proviso or explanation?

Yes. One extracted qualification is: “Provided that before imposing any such penalty, such employer shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard and if after such hearing the assessing officer is satisfied that the default was for any good and sufficient reason, no penalty shall be imposed on such employer.”

What deadline, period, percentage or amount appears in Rule 43?

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in this rule text.

Which Code sections are linked to Rule 43?

The current concordance maps Rule 43 to Section(s) 104.

When did Rule 43 come into force?

The final Central Rules were notified as G.S.R. 344(E), 8 May 2026; Rule 1 states that the Rules come into force on publication. Check any later amendment or corrigendum before reliance.

Primary sources

Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 — official Gazette PDF ↗

Code on Social Security, 2020 — India Code ↗

Source check: 20 August 2026.

Jurisdiction note: This is the Central Rule corpus. Check State rules/notifications where the State Government is the appropriate Government and check later Gazette amendments before acting.