01
Monthly Recurring Tracker
The filings that repeat every month, TDS by the 7th, PF and ESI by the 15th, PT, payslips, plotted across all 12 months so you can tick each one off as you file.
Payroll & HR
Labour Law Compliance Calendar Free Excel Tracker for Indian Employers
Every statutory deadline in one editable sheet. PF, ESI, TDS, Professional Tax, bonus, gratuity, and POSH, mapped month by month for FY 2026-27. Tick each filing as you go and let the dashboard count what's left.
- Monthly, quarterly, and annual deadlines mapped April to March
- Status dropdowns and a live dashboard that counts what's Filed vs Pending
- Penalty reference and state-wise Professional Tax notes built in
No spam. Instant download link to your
email.
Petpooja presents
Labour Law Compliance Calendar
For Indian Employers
7
Sheets · Excel tracker
FY 2026-27
What's Inside
Seven sheets covering every statutory deadline.
02
Annual & Quarterly Calendar
Every dated deadline in order, April to March. Form 24Q, Form 16, ESI half-yearly returns, bonus payment, S&E renewal, POSH annual report, with the portal and form for each.
03
Event-Based Compliance
What to do the day someone joins, exits, or an incident happens. UAN registration, ESIC IP number, full and final settlement, gratuity, accident reporting, each with its timeline.
04
Penalty Reference
What each missed deadline actually costs, interest under S.7Q, damages up to 100% for PF, 1.5%/month for TDS, with the exact section number. Includes director and partner liability.
05
State-Specific Notes
Professional Tax caps and Shop & Establishment renewal rules for 10 major states, with the portal for each. Delhi, UP, Haryana, and Rajasthan levy no PT, flagged clearly.
06
Live Status Dashboard
Set each task to Not Started, In Progress, Filed, or N/A from a dropdown. The dashboard counts them automatically and shows a completion percentage. No manual tallying.
07
Instructions & Rate Card
A how-to guide plus the FY 2026-27 rate card, PF, ESI, PT, bonus, and gratuity thresholds in one place, so every deadline in the tracker has its number and section reference on hand.
Why This Matters
The Deadlines Every Indian Employer Keeps Missing
It's the 16th. You realise the PF challan for last month never went out. The EPFO portal deadline was yesterday, and now you're looking at interest under Section 7Q plus damages that can run to the full amount of the arrears.
For a small business owner running the shop, the kitchen, or the factory floor, labour law compliance is a second full-time job. TDS by the 7th. PF and ESI by the 15th. Professional Tax on a date that changes from state to state. Form 24Q every quarter, Form 16 by June, bonus by November, POSH annual report by January. Miss one, and the penalty is rarely small.
The deadlines are scattered across half a dozen laws, the EPF & MP Act 1952, the ESI Act 1948, the Income Tax Act, the Payment of Bonus Act 1965, your state's Shops & Establishments Act, and the POSH Act. No single government portal lists them all in one place. Most owners keep the dates in their head, and that's exactly why they slip.
Late payments don't just cost money. For PF, ESI, and TDS defaults, the liability can reach the director, the partner, or whoever is in charge of the establishment personally, not just the company. A missed POSH annual report can bring a fine up to ₹50,000, and a repeat can put your licence at risk.
This calendar puts every deadline in one editable sheet. Monthly filings mapped across all 12 months, dated annual and quarterly deadlines in order, and event-based tasks for joining and exit. Each rate and reference, PF at 12%, ESI at 0.75% employee plus 3.25% employer up to ₹21,000 gross, the ₹2,500 PT cap, is drawn from the governing Act with its section number. Set a status, and the dashboard tells you what's still pending.
Sample Preview
A few of the deadlines inside the tracker.
Here's a preview of what you'll get inside:
7th of every month: Deposit TDS on salary and non-salary
payments via challan ITNS 281. Late = 1.5%/month interest under Section 201(1A)
15th of every month: Deposit PF and file the monthly ECR on the
EPFO portal, plus ESI contributions on the ESIC portal
31-Jul-2026: Form 24Q TDS return for Q1 (Apr-Jun) on TRACES.
Late filing fee ₹200/day under Section 234E, capped at the TDS amount
30-Nov-2026: Pay annual bonus for FY 2025-26 to employees
earning up to ₹21,000/month, between 8.33% and 20%, under the Payment of Bonus Act 1965
31-Jan-2027: File the POSH annual report to the District Officer
under Section 21. Set each row to Filed and the dashboard updates itself
... plus every quarterly return, event-based task, the full penalty table, and
state-wise Professional Tax notes across 7 sheets.
Key Stats
What a missed deadline can cost.
1.5%/month
Interest on late TDS deposit, charged from the date of deduction to the date it actually reaches the government. It runs every month until you pay, on top of the tax itself.
Source: Income Tax Act 1961, Section 201(1A)Up to 100%
Damages that can be levied on late PF payment under Section 14B, on top of interest under Section 7Q. For PF, ESI, and TDS defaults, the liability can extend to directors and partners personally.
Source: EPF & MP Act 1952, Sections 7Q and 14B₹50,000
Maximum fine for failing to constitute a POSH Internal Committee or file the annual report. A repeat offence can lead to cancellation of your business licence.
Source: POSH Act 2013, Section 26
Common Mistakes
7 Compliance Slips Indian Employers Make
01
Forgetting the March TDS exception
TDS is due by the 7th every month, except for March, when the deadline shifts to 30 April. Businesses that file on autopilot deposit March TDS a full three weeks late and pay interest for it.
02
Paying PF but not filing the ECR
Depositing the PF amount is only half the job. The Electronic Challan-cum-Return, with the employee-wise breakup, must be filed on the EPFO portal by the 15th too. KYC has to be verified for every employee.
03
Using one Professional Tax date for every state
Professional Tax deposit dates differ by state, Maharashtra at month end for monthly filers, Karnataka on the 20th, Gujarat on the 15th. A business with branches in multiple states cannot run them all on one date.
04
Treating bonus as optional
Bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act 1965 is a statutory obligation, not a goodwill gesture. It is due within 8 months of the financial year close, by 30 November, for employees earning up to ₹21,000/month.
05
06
Letting the S&E and FSSAI licences lapse
Shop & Establishment and FSSAI licences need renewal before expiry, and most applications must go in 30 days ahead. A lapsed licence can halt operations, not just attract a fine.
07
Skipping the POSH annual report
Any workplace with 10 or more employees must have an Internal Committee and file an annual report to the District Officer by 31 January. It's the deadline most small businesses don't even know exists.
Comparison
Tracking Compliance: Memory vs This Calendar.
| Aspect | Keeping It in Your Head | With This Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlines in one place | Scattered across 6+ laws and portals | All monthly, quarterly, and annual dates in one sheet |
| Knowing what's pending | You find out when a notice arrives | Dashboard counts Filed vs Not Started live |
| March TDS exception | Easy to miss (deadline shifts to 30 Apr) | Flagged as a separate dated row |
| Penalty awareness | Looked up after the fact | Penalty table with section numbers built in |
| State PT dates | One assumed date for all branches | State-wise notes for 10 major states |
| Joining & exit tasks | Remembered case by case | Event-based checklist with timelines |
| Cost of a slip | Interest, damages, personal liability | Reminders before the date, not after |
Never miss a compliance deadline.
Download the free Labour Law Compliance Calendar and see every PF, ESI, TDS, and PT date for FY 2026-27.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
What are the monthly labour law compliance deadlines in India?
The core recurring deadlines are: TDS deposit by the 7th (challan ITNS 281), PF deposit and
monthly ECR filing by the 15th on the EPFO portal, and ESI contribution by the 15th on the ESIC portal.
Professional Tax is monthly too, but the exact date varies by state. Payslips must be issued at month end
under Section 13A of the Payment of Wages Act. This calendar lays all of these out across 12 months so you
can tick each one off.
What is the penalty for late PF or ESI payment?
For late PF, interest is charged under Section 7Q and damages of up to 100% of the arrears
under Section 14B of the EPF & MP Act 1952. For late ESI, simple interest up to 12% per annum applies,
plus damages up to 25% under Section 85B. Importantly, for PF, ESI, and TDS defaults the liability can
extend personally to directors, partners, or the person in charge of the establishment, not just the
company. Our PF & ESI Compliance Checklist walks through the registration and filing steps in detail, and you'll find related HR and compliance downloads in our templates and checklists library.
When is the TDS deadline different from the 7th?
TDS deducted on salary and non-salary payments is normally deposited by the 7th of the
following month. The one exception is March: TDS for March can be deposited by 30 April. The quarterly TDS
return in Form 24Q is due by 31 July, 31 October, 31 January, and 31 May for Q1 to Q4 respectively, under
Section 200(3) of the Income Tax Act.
When must annual bonus be paid under the Payment of Bonus Act?
Bonus must be paid within 8 months of the close of the financial year, which means by 30
November for an April-March year, under Section 19 of the Payment of Bonus Act 1965. It applies to employees
drawing up to ₹21,000 per month, and the amount ranges from a minimum of 8.33% to a maximum of 20% of
eligible wages, you can work out the figure with our statutory bonus calculator, one of our free payroll and tax calculators. Non-payment can lead to imprisonment up to 6 months or a fine under Section 28.
Do the four new Labour Codes change these deadlines?
The four Labour Codes (Wages, the Social Security Code, Industrial Relations, and Occupational Safety)
consolidate 29 existing laws, but their rules are still being notified in stages. Until a Code is fully in
force, the existing Acts, EPF Act, ESI Act, Payment of Bonus Act, and others, continue to govern. This
calendar is built on the currently enforced Acts. Always check EPFO, ESIC, and your state labour department
for the latest position before filing.
About Petpooja
Petpooja is India's leading SME business software suite, trusted by 1,50,000+ businesses across restaurants, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and more. From billing and payroll to task management and procurement Petpooja helps Indian businesses run better, every day.
Automate compliance for your entire team
Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) auto-calculates PF, ESI, PT, and TDS every month, generates the ECR file for the EPFO portal, and puts payslips in the employee app. Most of this calendar becomes one-click.
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