Rule 53: Form and manner for maintenance of records and registers, etc.

Finin2min analysis — operative rule mechanics

Full notified text — Rule 53

53. Form and manner for maintenance of records and registers etc.–(1) (a) the employer of every
establishment shall maintain, register –

             (i)      of employees in Form – I of the Wages (Central) Rules, 2026;
             (ii)      of attendance-cum-muster roll in Form - IX of the Wages (Central) Rules, 2026;
             (iii)     of wages, overtime, advances, fines and deductions for damages and losses in
                       Form – IV of the Wages (Central) Rules, 2026;
             (iv)     of women employees in Form – XXII.

       Provided that in respect of establishment which is governed by the Code on Wages, 2019(29
of 2019) or the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2020 (37 of 2020) and
rules made thereunder maintain the registers specified in clause (i), (ii) and (iii) which shall be
deemed to be maintained by the employer under these rules also;

(b)      registers under this Chapter shall be maintained electronically or otherwise;
(c)      entries in the registers shall be made in English and Hindi or the language understood by a
majority of persons employed;
(d)     every employer shall produce records and registers, on demand before the Inspector-cum-
Facilitator or any person authorised in that behalf by the Central Government;
(e)      all the registers and other records shall be preserved in original for a period of five calendar
years from the date of last entry made therein.

(2)     Every employer shall issue wage slips, electronically or otherwise to the employees under
clause (c) of section 123 on or before payment of wages in Form – V of the Wages (Central) Rules,
2026.

(3)    All registers and other records required to be maintained under the Code and the rules made
thereunder shall be maintained complete and up-to-date and unless otherwise provided by the Central
Government, shall be kept at an office or the nearest convenient building within the precincts of the
workplace or at a place within a radius of three kilometres therefrom.

(4)      The employer shall display conspicuously a notice at or near the main entrance of the
establishment in bold letters in English, Hindi and in a language understood by the majority of the

employees specifying the name of the officer with designation authorised by the employer to receive,
on his behalf, notices under the Code or the rules made therein.

(5) (a) The employer to which the provisions of Chapter V and Chapter VI of the Code apply, on or
before the 28th or 29th day of February in each year, upload a unified annual return in Form-XXIII
online on the web portal of the Central Government in the Ministry of Labour and Employment,
giving information as to the particulars specified, in respect of the preceding year:

       Provided that during inspection, the Inspector-cum-Facilitator may require the production of
accounts, books, registers and other documents maintained in electronic form or otherwise.

Explanation.- For the purposes of this sub-rule, the expression ―electronic form‖ shall have the same
meaning as assigned to it in clause (r) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of
2000).

(b) If the employer to whom the provisions of Chapter V and Chapter VI of the Code apply, sells,
abandons or discontinues the working of the establishment, then, he shall, within one month of the
date of such sale or abandonment or four months of the date of such discontinuance, as the case may
be, upload online, on the web portal of the Central Government in the Ministry of Labour and
Employment, a further unified return in Form XXIII referred to in clause (a) of sub-rule 5 in respect
of the period between the end of the preceding year and the date of such sale, abandonment or
discontinuance, as the case may be.

                                            CHAPTER XI

                                  OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

Application and evidence

1. Primary statutory test — (1) (a) the employer of every establishment shall maintain, register – (i) of employees in Form – I of the Wages (Central) Rules, 2026;
2. Additional operative limb — Provided that in respect of establishment which is governed by the Code on Wages, 2019(29 of 2019) or the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2020 (37 of 2020) and rules made thereunder maintain the registers specified in clause (i), (ii) and (iii) which shall be deemed to be maintained by the employer under these rules also;
3. Qualification / exception to test — Provided that in respect of establishment which is governed by the Code on Wages, 2019(29 of 2019) or the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2020 (37 of 2020) and rules made thereunder maintain the registers specified in clause (i), (ii) and (iii) which shall be deemed to be maintained by the employer under these rules also; (b)…
4. Numerical or timing control — (e) all the registers and other records shall be preserved in original for a period of five calendar years from the date of last entry made therein.
5. Code Section mapping — 123. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
6. Prescribed-form link recorded in the corpus — XXII, XXIII. Confirm the current notified form/version before filing.

Cross-references & prescribed forms

Worked example

Q&A — Rule 53

Primary sources