Gratuity Act Dilemma: Do We Need to Submit Form-A to Multiple Authorities for Different Locations?

Is it necessary to submit Form-A under the Gratuity Act to two different controlling authorities if we have a Head Office in Kolkata and operations at a different location outside Kolkata?

Submission of Form A Under the Gratuity Act

As per Section 2(a), you need to submit Form A to the controlling authority under the Government of India.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew

Notice of Opening, Change, or Closure of the Establishment:

Within thirty days of the rules becoming applicable to an establishment, a notice in Form A shall be submitted by the employer to the controlling authority of the area.

First, be sure which is the appropriate government—whether the Central Government or the State Government—with reference to Sec. 2(a) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. As per clause (b) of Sec. 2(a), if your establishment has branches in more than one state, then the Central Government is the appropriate government for your establishment, as pointed out by Varghese. Even in the case of the State Government being the appropriate government, the query raised is a relevant one when the establishment has branches across the state. If you carefully go through the contents required to be furnished by the employer in Form A of either the Central Rules or the State Rules, you will find them invariably requiring particulars of both the head office as well as the branches.

At times, the total number of employees in any branch may be less than 10 right from its inception, and also employees may be transferred among the various branches. However, it cannot alter the eligibility of such employees for gratuity. So, my personal view is that the submission of Form A to the Controlling Authority in whose jurisdiction the head office lies would be a sufficient compliance with this rule.

Regards,

Understanding the Jurisdiction for Form-A Submission Under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

Our esteemed member Sh. Umakanthan has rightly pointed out that initially, you need to ascertain the jurisdiction of the Appropriate Government before submitting Form-A under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. Your query is a little confusing as you have not mentioned the location of the establishment situated at a different place. Is it within the state of West Bengal or outside the state?

If the other establishment is situated in another state, then the Appropriate Government will be the Central Government. If it is located in the same state, the State will be the Appropriate Government. It all depends on the size and activities of a company. If all their day-to-day affairs are managed and controlled by their Head Office, then it is imperative for an employer to submit Form-A under the Payment of Gratuity Act.

However, if all the affairs are managed and controlled independently by the establishment with a strength of ten or more employees, and if the Head Office only acts as a supervisory and vigilance authority, then the authorized official of the establishment will send Form-A to the concerned controlling authority.

Regards,
BS Kalsi
Member since August 2011

Our company is situated in Lucknow and was established in the year 2010. We did not submit Form A at that time. Can we submit Form A to the controlling authority now, even though it is already late?

Dear Anuj,

For whose orders are you waiting? Please submit Form 'A' without any delay. Not submitting Form 'A' on time does not mean you should not send this intimation. To avoid any future actions, you should submit this form to the controlling authority of the area.

R N KHOLA