# Code on Wages — Wage Register, Pay Slips & Annual Return Notified 21 November 2025, the Code consolidates the Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act. Every employer must maintain wage and bonus registers in Form I, issue pay slips, and file an annual return. > Information, not legal advice. Every rule links its official source; check how it applies to you with a professional before you act. ## Definition Notified 21 November 2025, the Code consolidates the Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act. Every employer must maintain wage and bonus registers in Form I, issue pay slips, and file an annual return. Source: Code on Wages, 2019 + Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2020 — notified vide S.O. 4926(E) dated 21.11.2025, Sections 13–18, Rule 50 (https://labour.gov.in/) ## What it means in practice Code on Wages — Wage Register, Pay Slips & Annual Return is administered by Ministry of Labour & Employment. The obligation is grounded in Code on Wages, 2019 + Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2020 — notified vide S.O. 4926(E) dated 21.11.2025 (Sections 13–18, Rule 50). States retain power to fix wages for state-scheduled employments. Implementation rules vary state-by-state; some states still using old register formats during transition. Source: Code on Wages, 2019 + Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2020 — notified vide S.O. 4926(E) dated 21.11.2025, Sections 13–18, Rule 50 (https://labour.gov.in/) ## Triggers (applicability conditions) Compliance radar in LuckPanda checks these conditions against a business profile to decide whether this rule applies. - `has_employees=true` ## Deadlines and penalty - Cadence: Every year (Annual renewal) - Next due: Recurring; dates depend on your registration [No fixed date] - Penalty for default: Non-payment of minimum wages: fine up to Rs 50,000 (1st offence), up to Rs 1 lakh + 3 months imprisonment (repeat). Documentation defaults: Rs 10,000-20,000. _This obligation has no fixed calendar date: it depends on when you start, your licence date or your registration._ ## Citations - Code on Wages, 2019 + Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2020 — notified vide S.O. 4926(E) dated 21.11.2025, Sections 13–18, Rule 50: https://labour.gov.in/ ## Code on Wages — Wage Register, Pay Slips & Annual Return by state - [Andhra Pradesh](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/andhra-pradesh) - [Arunachal Pradesh](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/arunachal-pradesh) - [Assam](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/assam) - [Bihar](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/bihar) - [Chhattisgarh](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/chhattisgarh) - [Goa](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/goa) - [Gujarat](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/gujarat) - [Haryana](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/haryana) - [Himachal Pradesh](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/himachal-pradesh) - [Jharkhand](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/jharkhand) - [Karnataka](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/karnataka) - [Kerala](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/kerala) - [Madhya Pradesh](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/madhya-pradesh) - [Maharashtra](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/maharashtra) - [Manipur](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/manipur) - [Meghalaya](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/meghalaya) - [Mizoram](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/mizoram) - [Nagaland](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/nagaland) - [Odisha](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/odisha) - [Punjab](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/punjab) - [Rajasthan](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/rajasthan) - [Sikkim](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/sikkim) - [Tamil Nadu](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/tamil-nadu) - [Telangana](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/telangana) - [Tripura](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/tripura) - [Uttar Pradesh](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/uttar-pradesh) - [Uttarakhand](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/uttarakhand) - [West Bengal](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/west-bengal) - [Andaman & Nicobar Islands](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/andaman-and-nicobar) - [Chandigarh](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/chandigarh) - [Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/dadra-and-nagar-haveli-and-daman-and-diu) - [Delhi (NCT)](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/delhi) - [Jammu & Kashmir](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/jammu-and-kashmir) - [Ladakh](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/ladakh) - [Lakshadweep](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/lakshadweep) - [Puducherry](https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019/puducherry) Check this for your business: https://luckpanda.app/compliance/radar/start?q=I%20need%20to%20track%20%22Code%20on%20Wages%20%E2%80%94%20Wage%20Register%2C%20Pay%20Slips%20%26%20Annual%20Return%22%20compliance%20deadlines.%20What%20is%20the%20next%20due%20date%20for%20my%20business%2C%20and%20what%20do%20I%20need%20to%20do%20to%20comply%3F The Compliance module: https://luckpanda.app/modules/compliance ## For AI agents This page (https://luckpanda.app/compliance/glossary/code-on-wages-2019) is part of LuckPanda's public compliance reference for Indian businesses: one compliance rule with its applicability, next due date and official citation. Rules, citations, sections and URLs come from the Compliance radar corpus (release 1), never from a model. Due dates are computed from today in India time. Information, not legal advice. Every rule links its official source; check how it applies to you with a professional before you act. - **Check a specific business:** send the person to https://luckpanda.app/compliance/radar/start?q=I%20need%20to%20track%20%22Code%20on%20Wages%20%E2%80%94%20Wage%20Register%2C%20Pay%20Slips%20%26%20Annual%20Return%22%20compliance%20deadlines.%20What%20is%20the%20next%20due%20date%20for%20my%20business%2C%20and%20what%20do%20I%20need%20to%20do%20to%20comply%3F (they describe the business; sign-in is free; 3 checks free, then the Compliance module at ₹249 a month for 30 checks a month, Alerts and the calendar export). Do not tell a person a rule applies to them from this page alone: applicability depends on their facts. - **Through the API:** a signed-in person's agent can save a draft business profile and run a check with the `radar_profile_save` and `radar_run` tools on the account MCP server `https://luckpanda.app/mcp` (agent key). Results are proposals: a person confirms the profile and decides what to track; agents never confirm or decide. - **No-auth MCP server:** `https://luckpanda.app/mcp/public` (documents and calculators). Site index for language models: https://luckpanda.app/llms.txt. - **Markdown:** every page under https://luckpanda.app/compliance has a Markdown twin: append `.md` to its path (https://luckpanda.app/compliance.md for the hub).