Andhra Pradesh 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.
Chapter XIV of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Andhra Pradesh) Rules, 2026 is the factory chapter: approval of the site and plans, the licence and its annual fee, the owner's liability for leased premises, the dangerous operations covered by thirty-five Schedules, and the rules for hazardous processes. Chapters XVI and XVIII add personal protective equipment and rules on specific plant.
For a new factory or an expansion, a labour law compliance review before the plans are filed is the cheapest time to catch gaps.
The rules are the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Andhra Pradesh) Rules, 2026, as notified by G.O.Rt.No.146 dated 6 August 2026. Plans are approved online by the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator within 7 working days, failing which permission is deemed granted (rule 117). The factory licence application is in Form-XXIV; if no order issues within seven working days, the licence is deemed granted (rule 118). Late annual fee carries simple interest at two percent per month. All fees are "as modified by means of a notification issued by the Government from time to time".
Notification and commencement
The rules are the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Andhra Pradesh) Rules, 2026, as notified by G.O.Rt.No.146 dated 6 August 2026. Later amendments and State notifications under these rules should be checked in the State Gazette. Rule 1(3) says they come into force on the date of their final publication in the Official Gazette; the four Labour Codes were brought into force from 21 November 2025. Registration is in our first OSH article.
Approval of site and plans (rule 117)
A factory needs the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator's previous written approval of plans where a hazardous process in the First Schedule of the Code is proposed (whatever the number of persons), or where the installed power is or will be more than 30 H.P. The application is in Form-XXIII on the online Single Desk Portal, with:
- a site plan to a scale of 1:400, 1:800 or 1:1200;
- detailed plans, elevations and sections to a scale of 1:100;
- a flowchart and description of the manufacturing process; and
- for hazardous processes, chemicals with their MSDS, risk assessment reports and arrangements for removal of dust, fumes, gases and effluents.
The scrutiny fee, paid online, depends on maximum installed horse power:
| Installed horse power | Scrutiny fee |
|---|---|
| Up to 100 HP | Rs.1000 |
| 101 HP to 500 HP | Rs. 3000 |
| 501 HP to 1500 HP | Rs. 5000 |
| 1501 HP to 10000 HP | Rs. 10000 |
| 10001 HP to 20000 HP | Rs. 20000 |
| Above 20000 HP | Rs30,000 |
Plans are prepared by a qualified draftsman (an empanelled one if the State notifies a scheme) and uploaded as CAD-based files. Approval is online within 7 working days, and if no order is communicated in that time the permission is deemed granted. Power is counted by the plant and machinery used in the manufacturing process or the installed horse power of captive generation, whichever is higher, without lighting, office equipment or standby generation. The approval can be revoked after a hearing if obtained by false information, and stands cancelled if construction is not started within 2 years. No manufacturing process may be carried on except in accordance with the approved plans.
The factory licence (rule 118)
The Central rules on factory conditions are rules 22 and 23; the Central rules do not set the licence fee. The Andhra Pradesh text provides:
- Application. Before starting any manufacturing process, the occupier applies online in Form-XXIV with documents and the annual licence fee. If a process starts without an application, the person with ultimate control, as determined by the Inspector-cum-Facilitator, is deemed the occupier until the licence is granted.
- Grant. The licensing authority verifies and grants the licence online in Form-XXV, with conditions if needed, or rejects with reasons. If no order is communicated within seven working days, the licence is deemed granted. The factory is treated as fully licensed from receipt of the application until the authority calls for information or refuses.
- Validity. "Valid till it is duly cancelled". An occupier, other than a Major Accident Hazard Installation, bulk drug or hazardous factory, may choose a block period up to 10 calendar years by paying the annual fee in multiples. Major Accident Hazard, bulk drug and hazardous factories renew every year.
- Late fee. If the annual fee is not paid within the prescribed period, "simple interest at the two percent per month or part of a month" runs on the unpaid part from the first day of the calendar year until the end of the month of payment. The Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator may waive interest for sufficient reason, and may waive the fee and interest if no manufacturing process was carried on in the year.
- Amendment. Within fifteen days of a change in name, maximum horse power or persons, or in the process or products, an application in Form XXIV online, with a fee of the excess over the fee otherwise payable, plus an amendment fee of Rs.1000/- or such other fee as notified.
- Transfer. The transferee applies online with a transfer fee of Rs.1000/- or as notified, decided within seven working days. On the licensee's death or insolvency, the successor has up to 30 days to apply online without penalty.
- Cancellation or suspension. The licence stands cancelled or suspended for non-payment of the annual fee before 31 December of the preceding year, or revoked for imminent danger after a show-cause opportunity. A duplicate is downloadable online or issued for Rs 1000/- or as notified.
- Manager. The occupier sends Form-XXVIII to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator within seven days of a change of manager.
- Payment. Every fee is paid online under the head of account stated in the rule.
The annual licence fee Schedule
The Schedule is a matrix: down the side, the quantity of maximum horse power or kilowatts installed in fourteen bands (Nil, 20/15, 50/37, 100/75, 150/112, 250/186, 500/373, 1000/746, 1500/1119, 2000/1492, 3000/2238, 5000/3730, 10000/7460 and Above 10000); across the top, the maximum number of persons employed on any day in thirteen bands (20, 50, 100, 150, 250, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, 5000, 10000 and above 10000). Two rows as printed illustrate the range:
| Installed power | 20 | 50 | 100 | 150 | 250 | 500 | 1000 | 1500 | 2000 | 3000 | 5000 | 10000 | Above 10000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nil | 1000 | 1800 | 3600 | 4800 | 9600 | 12000 | 18000 | 24000 | 30000 | 36000 | 42000 | 51000 | 63000 |
| Above 10000 | 72000 | 81000 | 90000 | 105000 | 120000 | 135000 | 150000 | 165000 | 195000 | 250000 | 325000 | 400000 | 500000 |
The proviso says the annual licence fee "shall be as modified by means of a notification issued by the Government from time to time". Read the row and column for your installed power and maximum workers in the Schedule itself before paying.
Owner of premises (rule 119)
Where vacant plots, buildings or floors are leased to different factories, the owner is responsible for common roads, drainage, water supply, sanitation, structural stability, fire hydrant and emergency response systems, ventilation, lighting, latrines, urinals and, for leased buildings or floors, common facilities such as crèche, rest rooms, canteens and health centres, treated as one factory. A lessee who takes premises that do not comply is jointly and severally responsible. An occupier who explicitly undertakes in the lease deed to provide the welfare amenities relieves the owner to that extent.
Dangerous operations (rule 120)
Rule 120 declares thirty-five classes of dangerous operations, from aerated waters and bottling, electroplating, accumulators, glass, grinding, lead, sand blasting and tanning, through rubber and plastics, cashewnut processing, pottery, chemical works, asbestos, forging, corrosives, solvent extraction, pesticides, benzene, high noise and vibration, foundries, fireworks and match factories, coir fibre and textiles, to dust hazard control and cellulose spraying. Schedules I to XXXV (about 9,800 lines of the text) lay down the measures for each, and are named here rather than reproduced. An Inspector-cum-Facilitator may order measures in writing or suspend a process for imminent danger for a maximum of 3 days, after which the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator may extend it. Medical records under the Schedules are kept until 1 year after the worker leaves.
Hazardous processes (rules 121 to 138)
- Site appraisal (rule 121). A State Site Appraisal Committee examines applications for hazardous process sites, submitted with 15 copies; the Secretary acknowledges within 7 days.
- Information (rules 122 to 129). The occupier keeps Material Safety Data Sheets accessible to workers, discloses information to workers, the public, the local authority and the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator, and prepares a written Health and Safety Policy (rule 127), signed and given to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator, made available to all workers including contract workers, and revised on any expansion or new substance.
- Medical examination (rule 130). Workers are examined by a Health Surveillance Officer before employment and once in six months, recorded in the Health Register in Form XVIII; no first employment without a fitness certificate in Form XVII; abnormalities go to the Medical Officer, who communicates findings within thirty days. The Form numbers in rule 130 do not match the headings of the appended Forms XVII and XVIII (headed licence transfer and experience certificate), so confirm the Form in the Gazette.
- Occupational Health Centre (rule 131). Scaled to workforce: for up to 50 workers, a Health Surveillance Officer on retainer, five first-aid trained persons and a first aid box; for 51 to 200, a centre with a part-time officer visiting at least twice a week and a dresser-cum-compounder; above 200, a full-time officer for up to 500 workers and one more for every additional thousand or part, a nurse, dresser-cum-compounder and ward boy.
- Ambulance and decontamination (rules 132 and 133). An ambulance van (a factory with fewer than 500 workers may arrange one at short notice from a hospital) and drenching showers on a scale from 2 for up to 50 workers upward.
- Health records and supervisors (rules 134 and 135). Workers may see their records every six months or after each examination; supervisors of hazardous substances need a chemistry or chemical engineering qualification with two or five years' experience.
- Appeals (rule 137). The occupier or manager appeals within fifteen days from an Inspector-cum-Facilitator's order to the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator, and from the Chief's order to the Government; the appeal is disposed of within thirty days.
- Supervisory and confidential staff (rule 138). Managers, engineers, stenographers, cashiers and similar persons not required to do manual labour are excluded from Chapter VII of the Code except section 32; the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator's declaration on application is deemed if no refusal comes within thirty days.
Protective equipment and plant rules (rules 142 to 168)
Rule 142 requires suitable PPE (helmets, goggles, respirators, aprons, boots, gloves and clothing) to be supplied to workers in factories and building work for hazardous activity, conforming to national standards, with no charge to the workers. Chapter XVIII adds rules on safety belts, fragile roofs, cotton ginning, electricity, ship building and repair, railways in factories, reaction vessels, thermic fluid heaters, ovens and driers, centrifuges, eyesight examination, mandatory safety training, competent persons, stability certificates, appeals and surveys. The canteen and welfare rules are linked at Central rules on canteens.
A worked example
Konda Foundry, an invented unit planning 450 installed H.P., files Form-XXIII with site and building plans and pays the scrutiny fee for the 101 to 500 HP band as printed, subject to any notification modifying it. Approval comes online on the sixth working day. After construction it applies in Form-XXIV, and the licence is deemed granted after seven working days. It chooses a block period of five calendar years. When it changes its manager, it files Form-XXVIII within seven days.
Common lapses
- Starting construction before the plan approval, or letting the approval lapse after 2 years.
- Missing the amendment application within fifteen days of a change in horse power or workers.
- Paying the annual fee after 31 December of the preceding year.
- Appealing an Inspector-cum-Facilitator's order after fifteen days without a reasonable cause.
- Leasing premises without recording welfare responsibilities in the lease deed.
Need help with factory plans and licences?
Plan approval, licence fees and hazardous process duties interact, and a mistake at the plan stage is costly later. Our labour law compliance team can help prepare the application set.
Key takeaways
- Plan approval in 7 working days or deemed; licence in 7 working days or deemed.
- Scrutiny fee by horse power (Rs.1000 to Rs30,000); annual licence fee by horse power and persons.
- Block licence up to 10 calendar years; hazardous factories renew yearly.
- Late fee: simple interest at two percent per month.
- Hazardous process: Health Policy, six-monthly examinations, Occupational Health Centre.
Read next
- OSH (Andhra Pradesh) Rules, 2026: beedi and cigar, audio-visual and plantation workers
- OSH (Andhra Pradesh) Rules, 2026: offences, compounding, Social Security Fund and Forms
- Rules 22 and 23 of the OSH Central Rules, 2026: factory cleanliness, ventilation, temperature and humidity
- Rule 57 of the OSH Central Rules, 2026: welfare officer
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.