Code on Social Security explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The Code on Social Security (Lakshadweep) Rules, 2025 are the Union Territory's rules under the Code on Social Security, 2020. For an employer in the islands the practical parts are the building workers' cess and its time limit, the appeal fee, the register of women employees and the unified annual return, compounding of offences, and the reporting of vacancies to career centres. The two Boards are mostly the Administration's concern.
Cess on a building project is paid to the Cess Collector within thirty days of completion or of assessment, whichever is earlier (rule 34). A cess appeal needs a non-refundable fee of half percent of the amount in dispute, not exceeding rupees twenty five thousand (rule 35). The unified annual return is uploaded on or before 1st February each year (rule 39(3)). Vacancies are reported to the Career Centre at least fifteen days before the last date for applications (rule 41(4)).
The rule set, commencement and the applicability date
The rules are the Code on Social Security (Lakshadweep) Rules, 2025, as notified on 25 March 2026 (F.No.08/03/2024-LE&T/72, Lakshadweep Gazette Extraordinary of 30 March 2026). Later amendments and State notifications under these rules should be checked in the State Gazette.
The Administrator makes them under section 154(1) of the Code on Social Security, 2020, in supersession of the rules on the subject in force in the Union Territory, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before the supersession. Rule 1(2) extends them to the whole of the Union Territory, and rule 1(3) says: "They shall come into force after the date of their final publication in the Official Gazette of Lakshadweep." The four Codes were brought into force from 21 November 2025.
A separate Lakshadweep Gazette Extraordinary of 10 August 2026 republishes, for general information, the notification published in the Extraordinary Gazette of India, Issue No. 2071, Part II, Sub-section (ii), dated 30th April, 2026, appointing 1st May, 2026 as the date for the applicability of the Code on Social Security, 2020 to establishments in the specified islands of the Union Territory. The republished copy does not list the islands, so an employer should confirm from the Gazette notification whether its island is among the specified ones. Rule 2 defines, among other things, "electronically" (email, upload on the designated portal or digital payment in any mode) and the two Boards: the Lakshadweep Unorganized Workers Social Security Board and the Lakshadweep Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
How the rules sit with the Central rules
The Code section that authorises the rules is explained in sections 154 and 155 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Central rules on definitions and registration are in rules 1 and 2 and rule 5. The Central cess rules are in rule 41 and rules 42 to 44, and records and vacancies are in rule 53, rule 54 and rules 55 and 56. Gratuity, maternity and compensation are in our companion article on the Lakshadweep gratuity, maternity and compensation rules. A general review of what a Lakshadweep construction or service establishment must file can be arranged through our labour law compliance service.
Chapter II: the two Boards
For the Unorganized Workers Social Security Board, a member other than an ex-officio member holds office for not more than three years, and of the seven persons nominated under section 6(10)(d)(i) one must be a woman (rule 3). A resignation takes effect on acceptance or on the expiry of thirty days from receipt of intimation, whichever is earlier (rule 4). The Board meets at least once a quarter, with ordinarily two weeks' notice (rules 10 and 11), and a quorum is one third of the members including at least one non-official member (rule 12). For the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, the term of the Chairperson and members is three years (rule 13), and under rule 15A the Board, with the Administration's prior approval, notifies the schemes and welfare measures under section 7(6)(c), (d) and (e). These are matters for the Administration and the Boards rather than for an employer's routine filings.
Chapter VII: cess and the appeal fee
| Obligation | Rule | As printed | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay cess levied under section 100(1) | 34(1) | Within thirty days of completion of the project or within thirty days of the date assessment of cess is finished, whichever is earlier | Cess Collector |
| Project longer than one year | 34(2) | Cess within thirty days of completion of one year from commencement of work and every year thereafter, at the notified rates on the cost of construction in the period | Cess Collector |
| Appeal under section 105 | 35 | Non-refundable fee of half percent, not exceeding rupees twenty five thousand, of the amount in dispute or penalty or both | Credited to the treasury under the head specified by the Administration |
The rules print no cess rate; the "notified rates" in rule 34(2) are those the Government notifies. The rules do not state a deadline for filing the appeal itself; the Code's section 105 applies.
Chapters VIII and IX: finance and authorities
Rule 36 lets the Government, in consultation with the two Boards, frame a policy on acquiring, holding and transferring property under section 120. Rule 37 allows a Board to write off irrecoverable contribution, cess, interest and damages in listed cases, including an establishment closed for more than five years with the employer untraceable, a decree that cannot be executed for want of assets, and a failed claim against an Official Liquidator or a nationalised or taken-over establishment. Rule 38 lets the Inspector-cum-Facilitator exercise, besides the powers in section 122(6), such other powers as the Government deems fit.
Chapter X: records and the unified annual return (rule 39)
- Register of women employees. An employer of an establishment in which women are employed prepares and maintains it in Form XXII, electronically or in hard copy, with particulars of all women workers, available for inspection under the notified inspection scheme.
- Preservation. Records maintained for the purposes of Chapter V of the Code and the rules are preserved for three years from the date of their preparation.
- Unified annual return. An employer to whom Chapter V of the Code applies uploads the return online on the Government's web portal on or before the 1st day of February each year for the preceding year. The Forms appended to the rules print the Unified Annual Return as Form XXIII.
- Sale, abandonment or discontinuance. A further unified return covering the period from the end of the preceding year to the date of the event is uploaded within one month of a sale or abandonment, or four months of a discontinuance.
Chapter XI: compounding (rule 40)
The officer authorised by the Government issues a compounding notice electronically in Form XXIV for offences compoundable under section 138. The person noticed applies in Part III of the Form and deposits the entire compounding amount by electronic transfer or otherwise within fifteen days of receiving the notice. The Compounding Officer issues a composition certificate in Part IV within ten days of receiving the amount. If the amount is not deposited in time, prosecution is instituted. After a complaint is filed, the Court may compound a compoundable offence, with section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applying. The rules print no compounding amount; the Code's provisions apply.
Chapter XII: employment information and vacancy reporting (rule 41)
| Matter | Rule | As printed |
|---|---|---|
| Public sector employer reports every vacancy before filling it | 41(1)(a) | To the Career Centre specified by notification |
| Private sector | 41(1)(b) | From the date specified in the Government's notification; "private sector" means an establishment which is not public sector and has ordinarily 50 or more employees or such number as the Administration notifies |
| Unique vacancy reporting number | 41(1)(c) | Conveyed by the Career Centre not later than three working days from receipt |
| Form of report | 41(3) | Form XXV, separately for each type of vacancy |
| Time limit | 41(4) | At least fifteen days before the last date of receipt of applications, interview or test |
| Records | 41(5) | Employees on 31st March, persons recruited in the year, occupational details, unfilled vacancies and likely vacancies; for private sector from the notified date |
| Yearly return | 41(6) | Form EIR (Form XXVI), within thirty days of the due date, namely 31st March |
Rule 41(7) has the Director of Employment, or an equivalent or higher officer, declare an Executive Officer for each district to enforce the Chapter, and rule 41(8) makes that officer the competent authority to approve institution of a penalty under section 133. A private-sector reporting duty therefore starts only from the date the Administration notifies; the rules name no date.
Chapter XIII: the Social Security Fund and repeal
Rule 42 establishes the Lakshadweep Social Security Fund, from which expenses on schemes for unorganised workers notified under section 109(2) are met. Its sources include the Administration's grants, grants from the Government of India, registration and renewal amounts, CSR contributions as the Administration determines, and other approved sources. It is administered through a designated agency and audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India or another notified agency. Rule 43 requires a copy of Form VIII (notice for payment or rejection of a gratuity claim) to be shared electronically with the designated authority and the Director General, Labour Bureau. Rule 44 repeals the Lakshadweep Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) rules of 2011, saving orders and actions under them.
A worked example
A contractor builds a jetty-side warehouse in Kavaratti over eighteen months. Under rule 34(2) the contractor pays cess to the Cess Collector within thirty days of completing one year from the start of work, and again within thirty days of the final assessment or completion, whichever is earlier, at the notified rates on the cost of construction in the period. The same contractor, if it has 60 employees in a private-sector establishment, begins reporting vacancies only from the date the Administration notifies, and then reports at least fifteen days before the closing date for applications.
Common lapses
- Treating the Gazette republication of 10 August 2026 as a list of islands; it names none.
- Paying cess only at completion on a project that runs beyond one year.
- Uploading the unified annual return after 1st February.
- Missing the fifteen-day window to deposit the compounding amount.
Need help with Lakshadweep social security compliance?
If your establishment needs its cess payments, women employee register, annual return and vacancy reports checked against these rules, our labour law compliance service can map each duty to the rule and date.
Key takeaways
- Rules notified 25 March 2026; they take effect "after the date of their final publication in the Official Gazette of Lakshadweep".
- The Code applies to establishments in the specified islands from 1st May, 2026, as the republished notification says; it lists no islands.
- Cess is due within thirty days of completion or assessment, and annually on longer projects.
- Cess appeal fee: half percent of the amount in dispute, capped at rupees twenty five thousand.
- Unified annual return by 1st February; vacancies reported at least fifteen days before applications close.
Read next
- Code on Social Security (Lakshadweep) Rules, 2025: gratuity, maternity benefit, employee's compensation and the Employees Insurance Court
- Code on Wages (Lakshadweep) Rules, 2025: the notification, minimum wages, working hours and weekly rest
- Rules 55 and 56 of the Central Social Security rules: career centres and reporting of vacancies
- State rules under the four Labour Codes: which States have notified final rules
Disclaimer: Based on the State or Union territory rules named above, as notified under the Labour Codes and consulted on 4 October 2026. Later amendments, State notifications, fees and forms should be checked in the State Gazette and on the State labour department website. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.