Thirty Forms.
Field-by-field walkthroughs.

Form-III records the employee's nomination of a person (or persons) entitled to receive their welfare benefits — gratuity in particular — in the event of death or other terminal events.

Three distinct events trigger filing:

• Initial nomination — within 90 days of completing one year of service (or 90 days from 8 May 2026 for employees already past one year).
• Fresh nomination — within 90 days of acquiring a family if no family existed before, or after marriage if the prior nomination did not cover the spouse.
• Modification — when a nominee predeceases the employee, marries, or other particulars change.

The employee submits Form-III in duplicate to the employer — by personal service (after taking proper receipt), by speed post (with registration), or electronically.

Within 30 days of receipt, the employer verifies the service particulars against establishment records, signs and attests the duplicate, returns one attested copy to the employee, and retains the other.

Form-IV is filed when gratuity becomes payable — on superannuation, retirement, resignation after at least one year of continuous service (or fixed-term contract completion of one year), death, or disablement.

Three different applicants, three different time windows:

• Employee — ordinarily within 30 days of gratuity becoming payable. May apply earlier if the date of superannuation or retirement is known.
• Nominee — within 30 days from the date gratuity becomes payable to them.
• Legal heir (where there is no nomination) — within 1 year from the date gratuity becomes payable.

For fixed-term employees: eligibility is triggered after one year of contract service, with subsequent service in excess of six months rounded up to one additional year.

Within 15 days of receipt, the employer must:

1. Verify the application against establishment records.
2. Compute the gratuity payable.
3. Issue a notice — Form-V if admitted (specifying amount and date of payment), Form-VI if rejected (with reasons), or notice of dispute if computation is contested.
4. Initiate payment if admitted.

If the application is filed past the 30-day window, the employer must still consider it if the applicant adduces sufficient cause for delay. No claim is invalid merely because it was filed late.

Form-XX is the first-ever procedural form for India's gig economy. Every business listed in the Seventh Schedule of the Code on Social Security — ride-sharing, food and grocery delivery, e-commerce, logistics, content/media services, healthcare, travel, hospitality, professional services — that operates as an aggregator must file this declaration.

The form establishes (a) the aggregator's identity and operations, (b) the number of platform/gig workers engaged, and (c) the turnover figure that anchors the Social Security Fund contribution at 1–2% of annual turnover, as specified in Section 114 of the Code.

The aggregator pays provisional contribution as assessed against the declared turnover. The contribution is credited directly to the Social Security Fund, which funds welfare schemes for gig and platform workers — health and disability cover, accident insurance, maternity benefits, old-age protection.

Where over-paid contribution is identified on reconciliation (lower-than-declared turnover, double-counted workers, etc.), the refund procedure under Rule 49 applies.

Form-XXIII consolidates the welfare-benefits return-filing obligation into a single electronic instrument. It covers — for the establishment as a whole — the data points required across:

• Chapter III — Employees' Provident Fund: contributions, employer-share, employee-share, member additions, exits.
• Chapter IV — Employees' State Insurance: insured persons added, contribution paid, family declarations.
• Chapter VI — Maternity benefit: claims paid, women on leave, crèche details.
• Chapter VII — BOCW cess (where applicable): construction cost basis, cess paid.
• Other chapters as applicable to the establishment's category.

An interim return covering the period from the previous year-end to the date of disposal must be filed in three scenarios:

• Sale of the establishment to a new owner.
• Abandonment of operations.
• Discontinuance of business.

This is materially relevant to M&A and carve-out playbooks — model the interim Form-XXIII obligation into transaction timelines.

For offences compoundable under Section 138 of the Code, the Central-Government-authorised compounding officer issues an electronic compounding notice in Form-XXIV. The notice specifies the offence, the compounding fee, and the period for compliance.

Once compounded, no further proceedings — including prosecution — lie against the offender for the same offence. This is final closure of the matter through procedural settlement.

Most commonly:

• Procedural breaches — late filing, register-maintenance failures, wage-slip non-issuance.
• Contribution shortfalls or computational errors that have been rectified but where the breach itself is on record.
• Other offences that the relevant section marks as compoundable.

Form-XXVII is filed by an injured employee, a dependent of a deceased employee, or a person authorised on their behalf, to claim compensation for an accident arising out of and in the course of employment under Chapter VII of the Code.

Triggers include: industrial injury, occupational disease, fatal accident, partial or total disablement.