Code on Wages Arunachal 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 Wages (Arunachal Pradesh) Rules, 2022 are the State's own rules under section 67 of the Code on Wages, 2019. Chapter I gives the title, extent and commencement, and Chapter II sets out how minimum wages are fixed and how the normal day, the weekly rest day and night shifts work for an employer in Arunachal Pradesh. This article explains those two chapters and what the State text prints.
The rules were made by the State Government in exercise of section 67 and extend to the whole of Arunachal Pradesh. They come into force from the date of effect of the Code on Wages, 2019. The normal working day is eight hours with rest intervals of not more than one hour in total, and the day may not spread over more than twelve hours (rule 6). A weekly rest day is ordinarily Sunday, but the employer may fix another day and must tell employees by notice (rule 7). The rules print the method of fixing minimum wages, not the rates.
Which rule set this is
The rules were notified as the Code on Wages (Arunachal Pradesh) Rules, 2022, as notified on 19 January 2022 in the Arunachal Pradesh Gazette Extraordinary No. 35 of 24 February 2022 (notification No. LAB (W)WC/47/2019 of the Department of Labour and Employment, Itanagar). Later amendments and State notifications under these rules should be checked in the State Gazette.
The notification records that draft rules were published first and that the objections and suggestions received from the Labour Officer, Seppa, were considered. It then supersedes three earlier sets, "except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession":
- the Arunachal Pradesh Payment of Wages (Procedure) Rules, 1988;
- the Arunachal Pradesh Payment of Wages Rules, 1988; and
- the Arunachal Pradesh Minimum Wages Rules, 1993.
Rule 1(3) reads: "These rules shall come into force from the date of effect of the Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019)." The rules therefore do not fix a separate date. The four Labour Codes were brought into force from 21 November 2025, as our post on sections 1 and 69 of the Code on Wages explains.
For the Central counterpart, see our post on rules 1 and 2 of the Central Rules. The State text adds its own definitions of "highly skilled work", "skilled work", "semi-skilled work" and "unskilled work" in rule 2. For help applying them to your payroll, see our labour law compliance service.
Who the State rules cover
The rules extend to the whole of Arunachal Pradesh (rule 1(2)). In practice they are the rules for establishments where the State Government is the appropriate Government under the Code. An establishment in the Central sphere follows the Central rules instead. Rule 2(s) adds that words not defined in the rules carry the meaning given in the Code.
How minimum wages are calculated (rules 3 to 5)
Rule 3 is about method. For sub-sections (4) and (5) of section 6, the minimum rate of wages is fixed on a day basis using these criteria, each as printed:
| Criterion | Rule 3(1) |
|---|---|
| Standard working class family | A spouse and two children apart from the earning worker, equal to three adult consumption units |
| Food | A net intake of 2700 calories per day per consumption unit |
| Clothing | 66 meters of cloth per year per standard working class family |
| Housing rent | 10 per cent of food and clothing expenditure |
| Fuel, electricity and miscellaneous | 20 percent of minimum wage |
| Education, medical, recreation, contingencies | 25 percent of minimum wage |
Under rule 3(2), once a day rate is fixed it is divided by eight for the hourly rate and multiplied by thirty for the monthly rate. Fractions of one-half and more are rounded to the next figure, and fractions below one-half are ignored.
The rules print no rupee rate. The Government fixes rates by notification, so an employer should read the current notified rate rather than any figure in these rules. Our general post on minimum wages in Arunachal Pradesh is a starting point only.
Area-I and Area-II (rule 4). The State Government divides the geographical area into two categories. Area-I comprises places in Arunachal Pradesh where Special Compensatory Allowance (SCA) at the lower rate is payable, and also places outside the State where employees are employed by or under the authority of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh. Area-II comprises all other places in the State where SCA at higher rates is admissible. If there is doubt about which area a place falls in, the decision of the Deputy Commissioner is final; the power to declare a place difficult or remote rests with the General Administration Department, Itanagar.
Skill categories. Rule 4(2) requires a technical committee to advise on skill categories. Its chairperson is the Secretary (Labour and Employment), with the Labour Commissioner, the Director of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the Director General of Employment (or nominee), two technical experts and the Deputy Labour Commissioner as Member Secretary. On its advice the State Government places occupations into four categories (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled) by changing the entries in Schedule E (rule 4(3)).
Dearness allowance (rule 5). The rule says that "endeavour shall be made" to compute the cost of living allowance and the cash value of concessions on essential commodities before 1 April and again before 1 October each year, to revise the dearness allowance payable on the minimum wages.
Working hours (rule 6)
Under rule 6, the normal working day under section 13(1)(a) of the Code consists of eight hours of work and one or more intervals of rest that in total do not exceed one hour. Counting those intervals, the working day may not spread over more than twelve hours on any day. For agricultural employment, these two limits are subject to modifications the State Government may determine from time to time. Nothing in the rule affects the Factories Act, 1948, as printed.
The weekly day of rest (rules 7 and 8)
Rule 7 gives every employee a rest day each week, which "shall ordinarily be Sunday". The employer may fix any other day for an employee or a class of employees. The entitlement applies where the employee has worked under the same employer for a continuous period of not less than six days. For that count, days of attendance allowance without work, days of lay-off with compensation, and leave or holiday (with or without pay) in the six days before the rest day are treated as days worked.
The employer must inform employees of the rest day, and of any change, before the change is made, by a notice displayed in the place of employment at the place specified by the Inspector-cum-Facilitator.
If an employee works on the rest day, a substituted rest day for a whole day must fall on one of the five days immediately before or after it, and no substitution may leave the employee working more than ten days consecutively without a whole rest day (rule 7(2)). The rest day is counted in the week in which the substituted day occurs for the weekly hours (rule 7(3)).
Pay for the rest day (rule 7(4)). An employee is granted wages for the rest day at the rate of the next preceding day. Where an employee works on the rest day and is given a substituted rest day, the wages for the day worked are at the overtime rate and the substituted day is paid at the rate of the next preceding day. The rule has provisos: where the minimum monthly wage was divided by twenty-six to get the daily rate, or the actual daily rate was so worked out and is not less than the notified minimum daily rate, no wages for the rest day are payable. In that case, if the employee works on the rest day and gets a substituted day, only the overtime amount is paid for the day worked. A dispute on whether the daily rate was correctly worked out goes, on application, to the Labour Commissioner or Deputy Labour Commissioner, after the parties make written representations. For piece-rate employees, rest day wages are as the State Government determines. More favourable terms under any other law, award, agreement or contract continue (rule 7(5)).
Night shifts (rule 8). Where a shift extends beyond midnight, a whole rest day means 24 consecutive hours from the time the shift ends, and the hours after midnight count towards the previous day.
Work outside the normal limits (rule 9)
For employees in an unforeseen emergency, in preparatory or complementary work that must be done outside the general limits, in essentially intermittent employment, in work that for technical reasons must be finished before duty ends, or in work that depends on the irregular action of natural forces, rules 6, 7 and 8 apply with two conditions: the spread-over must not exceed 16 hours in any day, and actual hours of work, excluding rest intervals and periods of inaction, must not exceed 9 hours in any day. Rule 10 fixes the longer wage period for minimum wages as the month.
Where the rules print no figure
The rules do not print an overtime multiple or a daily overtime ceiling; they refer to "the overtime rate". Check the Code and the State Gazette for the rate before computing it.
A worked example
Kamdi Textiles, an invented establishment in Naharlagun, runs a Monday-to-Saturday week with Sunday as the rest day. It wishes to move one packing team's rest day to Wednesday. Under rule 7(1) it may fix another day, but it must display a notice at the place specified by the Inspector-cum-Facilitator before the change takes effect. If a worker in that team is called in on the old Sunday, a whole substituted day must fall within five days either side, and the worker's days worked without a whole rest day may not run beyond ten.
Common lapses
- Changing the rest day without a displayed notice.
- Arranging a shift pattern whose spread-over, counting intervals, passes twelve hours.
- Giving no substituted rest day, or one outside the five-day window.
- Treating the rules' method for minimum wages as a rate: no rate is printed in them.
Need help with Arunachal Pradesh wage compliance?
If your shift pattern, rest-day arrangements or wage structure need checking against these rules, our team can review them with you. See our labour law compliance page for how a review works.
Key takeaways
- The rules come into force from the date of effect of the Code on Wages, 2019, and supersede three 1988 and 1993 State rule sets.
- Minimum wages are fixed by a printed method and two areas, Area-I and Area-II; the rules print no rate.
- The normal day is eight hours with rest intervals totalling not more than one hour, and a twelve-hour spread-over limit.
- The weekly rest day is ordinarily Sunday; any change needs a displayed notice before it takes effect.
- Rest-day work needs a substituted whole day within five days either side, and never more than ten days without a whole rest day.
Read next
- Code on Wages (Arunachal Pradesh) Rules, 2022: payment of wages, bonus, claims, registers and forms
- Arunachal Pradesh Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2022: registration, fees, duties and hours
- Weekly day of rest under the Central Code on Wages Rules, 2026
- Hours of work under the Central Code on Wages Rules, 2026
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.