Rule 72 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.
Rule 72 is the main record-keeping rule. It prescribes the employee register, the attendance register-cum-muster roll and the wage register, requires electronic wage slips on or before payday, sets a five-year retention period and a three-kilometre location limit for registers, and brings in the annual return and a self-declaration for PF and ESI establishments.
Every employer maintains an employee register (Form XIII), an attendance register-cum-muster roll (Form XIV) and a register for wages, overtime and deductions (Form XV), electronically or otherwise, and issues wage slips electronically in Form XVI on or before the day of payment. Records are preserved for five years from the last entry and produced on demand. An annual return in Forms XVII and XVIII is uploaded by 28 or 29 February following each calendar year.
The Code behind the rule
Section 33 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (the OSH Code) requires an employer to maintain a register in the prescribed form, electronically or otherwise, with particulars of workers, including work performed, normal hours, the day of rest, wages paid and receipts, leave, leave wages, overtime, attendance and dangerous occurrences, and employment of adolescents. It also requires display of notices, issue of wage slips in electronic form or otherwise, and filing of returns. Our section 33 explainer covers it.
The Central Rules apply where the Central Government is the appropriate Government. Where the State Government is the appropriate Government, the State's own OSH rules apply. To see which regime governs each of your establishments and registers, a labour law compliance review is a sensible first step.
Rule 72 at a glance
| Sub-rule | Subject | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 72(1) | Registers | Employee register (Form XIII); attendance register-cum-muster roll (Form XIV); register for wages, overtime and deduction (Form XV); electronic or otherwise; entries in English or Hindi and the local language; produce on demand before the Inspector-cum-Facilitator or a person authorised by the Central Government; preserve in original for five calendar years from the last entry |
| 72(2) | Wage slips | Issue electronically in Form XVI on or before the day of payment |
| 72(3) | Code on Wages overlap | Registers and slips maintained under the Code on Wages, 2019 and its rules are deemed maintained under these rules |
| 72(4) | Completeness and place | Complete and up to date; kept at an office or nearest convenient building within the precincts of the workplace or within a radius of three kilometres |
| 72(5) | Annual return | Upload a return in Forms XVII and XVIII on the designated portal on or before the 28th or 29th day of February following each calendar year |
| 72(6) | Sale or closure | Further return within one month of sale or abandonment, or four months of discontinuance |
| 72(7) | Manual records | Legible, in ink, in English or Hindi and the local language, signed by the employer; preserved five years; produced electronically or by speed post |
| 72(8) | PF and ESI | A self-declaration in Part IV of Form XVII for establishments covered by the PF and ESI chapters of the Code on Social Security, 2020 |
The three registers and the wage slip
The forms are named in the List of Forms as: Form XIII, employee register; Form XIV, attendance register-cum-muster roll; Form XV, register for wages, overtime and deductions; Form XVI, wage slip. This article does not reproduce them. Read them in the Forms part of the Rules for columns.
Employee register (Form XIII) carries the particulars of workers. Attendance register-cum-muster roll (Form XIV) records attendance and supports the hours and leave tests. Wages, overtime and deductions register (Form XV) is the record that an Inspector-cum-Facilitator will compare with the wage slips and with overtime rules; see our rule 69 article.
Wage slips. Sub-rule (2) says "electronically", "on or before the day of payment". Issue the slip by email or an employee app, with the wage period, components and deductions visible. Keep a log to show it was sent.
Language. Entries are in English or Hindi and in the local language (sub-rules (1)(v) and (7)(i)). That is a rule about the register entries; a system that prints the form in English and the local script meets it if the entries are accurate.
Electronic or otherwise. Sub-rule (1)(iv) permits electronic registers. Electronic records should be retrievable, protected and printable. Where an Inspector asks, sub-rule (5) says the Inspector-cum-Facilitator may require the production of accounts, books, registers and documents maintained in electronic form, and the Explanation adopts the Information Technology Act, 2000 meaning of "electronic form".
Retention, place and production
- Five years. Sub-rule (1)(vii) says registers and records are preserved in original for five calendar years from the date of the last entry. Sub-rule (7)(ii) says five years after the date of the last report or entry for manual records, with a proviso that if the original is lost or destroyed before then, true copies, if available, are preserved for a specified period. The rule does not state that period.
- Place. Sub-rule (4): an office or nearest convenient building within the precincts of the workplace, or a place within a radius of three kilometres. A central HR office in another city does not meet this for a physical register, though electronic records are retrievable from anywhere.
- Production. On demand before the Inspector-cum-Facilitator or a person authorised by the Central Government (sub-rule (1)(vi)); for manual records, electronically or by speed post before the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator, an Inspector-cum-Facilitator or an authorised person (sub-rule (7)(iii)).
- Non-maintenance. Failure to maintain registers has its own penalty provision; see our sections 95 and 96 explainer.
Overlap with the Code on Wages
Sub-rule (3) says that for an establishment required to maintain registers under the rules framed under the Code on Wages, 2019, the registers and wage slips kept under that Code and its rules are deemed to be maintained under these rules. So one set of wage registers can serve both, provided it meets the content needed by the Code on Wages rules. The OSH Code has its own definition of "wages" in section 2(1)(zzj); see our wages definition article. Do not assume the two definitions match for other purposes.
Annual return, closure and self-declaration
Sub-rule (5) requires the annual return in Forms XVII and XVIII to be uploaded on the designated portal by 28th or 29th February following each calendar year. The List of Forms describes Form XVII as the annual return and Form XVIII as a half-yearly return (January to June, July to December) to be submitted by a contractor to the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central). Read both forms in the Rules to see which applies to you. Our rules 73 and 74 article covers the annual return further.
On sale, abandonment or discontinuance, sub-rule (6) asks for a further return covering the period from the end of the preceding year to the date of sale, abandonment or discontinuance, within one month of sale or abandonment or four months of discontinuance.
Sub-rule (8) requires a self-declaration in Part IV of Form XVII, electronically, from every establishment to which the provident fund and ESI chapters of the Code on Social Security, 2020 apply.
Practical examples
Example 1. A services company keeps attendance on a biometric system and wages in payroll software. It maps the exports to Forms XIV and XV, issues Form XVI slips by email on payday, and stores the records for five years after the last entry.
Example 2. A mid-sized unit keeps its manual registers in a head office two cities away. Sub-rule (4) requires the registers at the workplace precincts or within three kilometres, so it moves them or shifts to electronic registers.
Example 3. A company sells a division on 15 June. It must upload a further return for the period from the end of the preceding year to 15 June within one month of the sale.
Compliance checklist
- Set up Forms XIII, XIV, XV and XVI, in English or Hindi and the local language.
- Issue wage slips electronically on or before payday.
- Keep registers within the premises or three kilometres, and preserve them five years after the last entry.
- Upload Forms XVII and XVIII by 28 or 29 February.
- File the PF and ESI self-declaration where applicable.
- File a further return on sale, abandonment or discontinuance.
Need help with registers and returns?
If your records sit across payroll, HR and site files, it helps to map them once to the prescribed forms. Our team can review your registers, wage slips and return process against the Code and the Central Rules. Start with our labour law compliance service.
Key takeaways
- Rule 72 requires an employee register, muster roll and wage register, in Forms XIII, XIV and XV.
- Wage slips in Form XVI go out electronically on or before payday.
- Records are preserved five years after the last entry and produced on demand.
- Registers sit at the workplace or within three kilometres.
- Annual return in Forms XVII and XVIII by 28 or 29 February; further returns on sale or closure.
- Registers under the Code on Wages rules are deemed maintained under these rules.
Read next
- Section 33 of the OSH Code: maintenance of registers, records and filing of returns
- Rules 73 and 74: display on notice board and annual return
- Rules 75 and 76: register of accidents and register of leave with wages
- Registers under the Factories Act: complete list
Disclaimer: Based on the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (as enacted) and, where noted, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026), as on 30 September 2026. The Code is in force from 21 November 2025; some provisions may be notified later, and State Governments make their own rules for establishments where the State is the appropriate Government. Verify the current position before acting.