Is Registering on Shram Suvidha Enough for MSME Compliance with Central and State Labor Laws?

Is maintaining a register under the Central Government's Shram Suvidha portal sufficient compliance for both central and State Government labor laws? The MSME is a manufacturing unit situated in Karnataka.

Electronic Records and Labour Department Compliance

The Labour Department doesn't seem to be okay with maintaining documents, records, and registers in electronic formats. LD's Portals are useful for filing returns, correspondences, and downloading these prescribed forms. There are a few registers, like payment of wages/salary, etc., that are subject to periodical inspection by the department inspectors. During the inspection of these records, the inspecting officers verify and sign them. In electronic forms, physical inspection of records is not conducive, though digital signatures are in vogue.

Apart from that, if yours appears to be a factory/industry for which statutory records should be maintained as stipulated, there is no exemption under the MSME Act.

Kumar Sir, thank you for such an insightful answer. But then again, as an MSME, is it mandatory to maintain the register both electronically and physically to comply with the State Labour Laws.

MSME Act Compliance

The MSME Act doesn't prescribe any specific documents akin to this status, as the MSME is determined by the quantum of fixed assets, manpower, or turnover as per the norms in the act. Registration must be renewed periodically. The status changes over the years from micro to small to medium as the parameters improve.

Document Requirements

Electronically, there is no compulsion, but physically, yes, as prescribed under various labor laws. However, you should keep referring to notifications issued and amendments made to the act and rules from time to time.

Applicability of Labor Laws

Each central/state labor law lays down criteria for its applicability, usually based on the number of workers employed and wage limits. The definition of worker/employee varies from Act to Act, which is also a determining factor for applicability. Therefore, being an MSME is not the criterion, and you need to look at each Act to see its applicability for compliance.

Compliance in Electronic Form

Compliance in electronic form has not yet become popular, although certain State Governments are allowing it with their approval. A better way would be to maintain physically all registers, books, and periodical returns as specified in each applicable law.

Compliance under each applicable labor law is mandatory, and failure to comply would entail punishment of a fine and imprisonment upon conviction.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR Consultant