Notification Record & Forms
Notification details and the forms every employer needs, in one place.
- Issuing authority
- Labour Welfare Department, Government of Assam, under orders of the Governor of Assam
- Notified
- Draft approved 28 March 2022; published in the Assam Gazette on 8 April 2022
- Objection window
- 45 days from the date of publication, closing on or around 23 May 2022
- Legal basis
- Sections 133, 135 and 137 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020 (Act 37 of 2020)
- Supersedes
- 8 earlier Assam laws, including the Assam Factories Rules 1950 and the Assam Factories (Safety Officers) Rules 1980
- Status as of
- 27 July 2026: still a draft; a confirmed final notification has not been located
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020 is one of the four central labour codes that Parliament passed to replace a long list of older labour laws. Under sections 133 and 135 of this Code, every state government has to frame its own rules to make the Code workable on the ground. Assam did this in March 2022, when the Labour Welfare Department released a single, consolidated rule book covering factories, plantations, contractors, migrant workers, motor transport undertakings, and beedi and cigar establishments. Once finally notified, the rules will replace eight older Assam laws with one registration form, one online portal, and one calendar of returns. This guide walks through the forms employers must file, the due dates to track, the main provisions, how the new system compares with the old one, the penalties for non compliance, who the rules cover, and answers to the questions employers ask most often.
Forms under the State Rules
Due Dates
Compliance deadlines, forms and how often each one recurs.
| Compliance | Form | Compliance Frequency | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Establishment registration | Form I | One time | Within 60 days of the rules coming into force; a late fee of 25 percent applies after that |
| Notice of commencement or cessation of work | Form II | Event based | Within 30 days of starting or stopping operations |
| Appointment letter, Labour Identification Number and identity card for employees already on rolls | Form IV | One time transition | Within 3 months of the rules coming into force |
| Appointment letter, Labour Identification Number and identity card for new employees | Form IV | Event based | At the time of appointment; identity card within 1 month of appointment |
| Notice of fatal accident | Form V | Event based | Immediately, by phone and electronically |
| Notice of accident causing 48 hours or more of disability | Form V | Event based | Within 12 hours after completion of the 48 hour disability period |
| Notice of dangerous occurrence | Form V | Event based | Within 12 hours of the occurrence |
| Notice of notified disease | Form VI | Event based | Forthwith, as soon as the case comes to notice |
| Annual health examination for eligible workers | Form III | Annual | Within 120 days of the start of each calendar year |
| Periodic medical examination for hazardous process workers | Form XXIII | Quarterly | Once every 3 months |
| Annual return | Form XI | Annual | On or before 1 February following the end of the calendar year |
| Wage payment | Form VIII | Monthly at most | Before the 7th day after the end of the wage period |
| Factory or contractor license renewal | Form XIII | Once per license term | Between 30 and 90 days before the license expires |
Key Provisions
What changed under the Code, and what it means for payroll.
Old Law vs. New Law
What employers followed before, against what applies now — point matched against point.
| On this point | Before — earlier law | Now — the new Code |
|---|---|---|
| Governing law | 8 separate Assam laws covering factories, safety officers, contract labour, migrant workers, plantations, motor transport, and beedi and cigar workers | One consolidated rule book, the Assam OSH Rules 2022, made under the central OSH Code 2020 |
| Registration | Separate registration under each sector specific law, often on paper | Single online registration in Form I covering all these categories together |
| Appointment letter | Not mandatory across every sector | Mandatory in Form IV for every employee, along with a Labour Identification Number |
| Safety Officer rules | Not mandatory across every sector | Mandatory in Form IV for every employee, along with a Labour Identification Number |
| Safety Officer rules | Governed on their own under the Assam Factories (Safety Officers) Rules 1980 | Folded into Chapter IV of the new rules with revised qualification and viva voce requirements |
| Overtime cap | No single cap applied across all sectors | Common cap of 125 hours of overtime per quarter across covered establishments |
| Women's night shift safeguards | Limited and scattered across different laws | One detailed set of safeguards, including CCTV, transport, wardens and a minimum batch size |
| Inspections | Separate inspectors under each of the earlier laws | Single Inspector cum Facilitator system meant to work off one common inspection scheme |
| Factory license validity | Renewed more frequently under the earlier Factories Rules | Can be granted in one go for up to 10 years under the new rules |
Applicability
Who the Code covers, and who gets special or exempt treatment.
Covered
- Factories employing 10 or more workers with power, or 20 or more without power
- Plantations as defined under the Code
- Employers engaging inter-state migrant workers
- Motor transport undertakings
- Beedi and cigar establishments
- Audio visual production units
- Audio visual production units
- Building and other construction work establishments
- Women workers across covered establishments
- Persons below 18 years of age
Exempted / special treatment
- Establishments already registered under other Central Labour Laws pay no registration fee, and only need to update their information
- Plantations up to 120 hectares pay a flat registration fee of Rs 10,000, regardless of worker count
- Principal employer must extend common welfare facilities to contract workers at its own premises
- Employer must pay onward and return journey allowance once a migrant worker completes 180 days of service
- Registration fee depends on the number of vehicles and whether the service is for freight or passengers
- Wetting and cutting of beedi leaves outside the industrial premises needs prior written permission
- Agreement with every audio visual worker must be filed in Form XVI within the prescribed period
- Covered for registration purposes under these rules
- Pregnant women are barred from work involving declared dangerous operations
- Barred from spraying, handling, storage or transport of insecticides, chemicals and toxic substances in plantations
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to what employers ask us most about this rule.
What are the Assam Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules 2022?
They are the state rules Assam has proposed under the central Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020. Once notified, they will set out how employers in Assam register their establishments, issue appointment letters, report accidents, maintain registers, and file annual returns under the new Code.
Are the Assam OSH Rules 2022 currently in force?
No. They are still a draft. The Labour Welfare Department published them on 8 April 2022 for public objections, and as of 27 July 2026 there is no confirmed final notification. Employers should keep following the older Assam labour laws until the state issues a final version of these rules.
Which older laws will these rules replace?
Eight Assam laws, including the Assam Factories Rules 1950, the Assam Factories (Safety Officers) Rules 1980, the Assam Building and Other Construction Workers Rules 2007, the Inter State Migrant Workmen Assam Rules 1981, the Plantation Labour Assam Rules 1956, the Motor Transport Workers Assam Rules 1965, the Beedi and Cigar Workers Assam Rules 1968, and the Contract Labour Central Rules 1971 as applied in Assam.
Who has to register under these rules?
Any employer running a factory, plantation, motor transport undertaking, or beedi or cigar establishment, or engaging contract labour or inter state migrant workers, has to register electronically through Form I once the rules take effect.
How much time will employers get to register once the rules are notified?
Sixty days from the date the rules come into force. Missing that window attracts a late fee of 25 percent over the normal registration fee.
What is a Labour Identification Number?
It is a unique code the employer allots to each worker once these rules are notified, along with an identity card carrying the worker's details. It sits alongside the appointment letter as a basic record for every employee.
Do employers have to give every worker a written appointment letter?
Yes. Rule 6 makes a written appointment letter compulsory in the prescribed Form IV. Workers already on the rolls when the rules take effect must receive one within three months of that date.
What must an employer do after a workplace accident?
A death has to be reported immediately by phone and electronically in Form V to the Inspector cum Facilitator, the police, and the worker's family. An injury that keeps a worker off duty for 48 hours or more must be reported within 12 hours of that 48 hour mark, and any listed dangerous occurrence must be reported within 12 hours.
Sources
Where every fact on this page comes from.
- → Assam Gazette Extraordinary No. 263, dated 8 April 2022, Notification No. GLR(RC)74/2020/12 dated 28 March 2022, Labour Welfare Department, Government of Assam
- → Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020 (Act No. 37 of 2020), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India
- → Cabinet Decisions, Chief Minister of Assam, meeting held 7 March 2022
- → Commissionerate of Labour, Government of Assam, official website and gazette notification records
For informational purposes only — not legal advice. State rules referenced here are subject to change on final notification. Verify current status with our compliance team before acting.