Are IT Companies in Karnataka Exempt from Maintaining Physical Statutory Documents?

I have some queries regarding statutory document maintenance. I have read an article regarding the exemption of IT industries (software development) from Shops & Establishment effective from December 2012. Now, my question is, we are in the software development industry, and our software products cater to different verticals registered under Karnataka Shops & Establishment. Do we need to maintain all statutory registers like the muster roll, Form T - wage & attendance, FORM P - Notice of holidays, FORM Q - Appointment letter, FORM U - Combined annual return, and FORM D - Labour welfare fund? Is it not sufficient if we show all documents maintained in soft copy when they come for inspection? If not, kindly guide me on whether we need to maintain all the above-mentioned documents in 2013 as well.

You shall maintain everything in soft copy. At the same time, how can you get the signature for Form T, Form Q, and Form D? Form U is an annual return and the same has to be submitted to the department in the month of January. By maintaining the soft copy, you will not be in a position to submit the same to the department. If there is any change in the formats, then the same should be approved by the Labour Inspector.

Good Morning Jeevarathnam Sir, we have already submitted Form-U in January, but my question is: does the IT company fall under the Shops & Establishment Act? We are also maintaining a Muster Roll book. I have attached a copy of the notice. Kindly let me know whether it applies to our company or not.

Thanks & Regards,
Sheela

That's true, but even then, it is better to submit the returns. The notification does not clearly mention that it is exempted from filing the returns and maintenance of the records.

Kindly please send Form T, Form Q, Form D, and Form U in XLS format. Also, could you please clarify the importance of Form C at the Bangalore office?

Thank you.

Regards,
S. Amirtha Senthil

Software companies are not exempt from the provisions of the Shops & Commercial Establishments Act. In your attachment, it is with regard to Standing Orders. The same was exempted for software companies, but the Standing Orders Act is made applicable effective from 31/3/13, as per your attachment.

Regards,
GEM
Bengaluru

I think the original article you read talks about the removal of exemptions, not the exemptions themselves. The Karnataka government withdrew the exemption because it was receiving a huge number of complaints about unfair labor practices in the IT sector and BPO in Karnataka since they were exempt.

As for maintaining soft copies of records, you will need approval for the same from the department. The approval will be given if you have software and the data is tamper-proof. Maintaining registers in Excel is definitely not acceptable.

Some refer to the Information Technology Act Section 4. However, that refers to electronic copies of physical documents and does not override the requirements of registers. Recent decisions by state governments have further narrowed it down to allowing the keeping of only PDF/A files (not normal PDF files that can be modified by Acrobat).

The other option is to keep a print of the records for each month, duly signed by the concerned manager.

Thank you, Mr. GEM and Mr. Saswatabanerjee, for your valuable response. Can I get any notification issued by the government about the withdrawal of the exemption? This would allow me to show the document to our management and inform them to maintain records and file returns in hard copy only.

With warm regards,
Sheela

The Karnataka Shops & Commercial Establishments Act mentions the requirement to maintain records and registers in various forms without exemption. All records must be maintained in hard copies in the prescribed format (PRESCRIBED BOOK). To maintain records and registers in a computerized format, an exemption from the Deputy Labour Commissioner is necessary.

Regards,
GEM

During the time of inspection, Labour officers asked us to submit the following details. Kindly, could anybody please help me out with the same?

1. Annual return form 'U' (Rule 24(9C))
2. Annual return form 'U' (Rule 20)
3. Annual return form 'U' (Rule 22(4))

Inspection Book and Form XIII

Additionally, what kind of inspection book should we maintain (Form 30)? What is Form XIII?

Renewal of Shop & Establishment Act

Also, kindly inform me about the process for renewing the Shop & Establishment Act.

Thank you,

Asha

To renew the Shops & Commercial Establishment certificate, you should submit application form A along with the necessary documents. Initially, you should file online and provide copies of the documents to the area inspector along with the government fee as per your slab. There is an Annual Form U required when filling those, and you will find the necessary information there.

Regards

[QUOTE=jeevarathnam;2097166]Dear Asha, To renew the Shops & Commercial Establishment certificate, you should submit the application form A along with the necessary documents. Initially, you should file online, and the copies of the documents should be given to the area inspector along with the government fee as per your slab. There is an Annual Form U that you will need to fill out, and you will find the required information there.

Request for Forms

Sir, Kindly please send FORM F and FORM P in xls format.

Amirthasenthil.s