Dear Mr. Krishna
By virtue of amendment namely: The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Rules, 2014, a new Form D has been introduced and it also provided an option to file the return online The amendment was notified on 10th November, 2014. The amendment also set a new timeline for filing the Annual Return by 1st February. The amendment also inserted a Proviso stating that the timelines as required under Section 19 of the act should be adhered as well. This created certain uncertainty on the filing of return date with the financial year varying for different employers and caused a confusion. As such new amendment namely; The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Rules, 2016 was notified on 6th December, 2016 by which the proviso to Rule 5(1) introduced in 2014 has been omitted. Hence the Annual Return now needs to be filed for very calendar year before 1st February of the following year irrespective of the financial year that an employer follows.
A copy of the Gazette Notifications is attached herewith for kind information.
With Regards
P S Lakshmanan
Labour Law Consultant – PAN INDIA