Payroll Processing in Raipur

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Practice Index (7 Sections)

Practice Overview & Verification

Payroll Processing in Raipur — Statutory Scope

Chartered Accountancy advisory and audit services in Raipur, Chhattisgarh & Kalahandi, Odisha. Direct partner supervision ensuring full compliance with ICAI standards and applicable statutes.

Payroll sits at the intersection of more statutes than almost any other business function — income tax, provident fund, employee insurance, professional tax, bonus, gratuity, and now a consolidated set of labour codes that changed how salary itself must be structured. Getting it wrong rarely shows up as one large error; it shows up as a slow accumulation of small ones, each individually minor, each compounding with interest and each eventually surfacing together at an inspection.

The ground shifted meaningfully in November 2025. The Ministry of Labour and Employment notified all four Labour Codes together, consolidating twenty-nine central labour laws into a single framework, and one specific change affects every payroll in the country: basic pay plus dearness allowance must now be at least 50 per cent of total compensation. This is not a minor administrative update — it changes how salary structures should be designed, and it flows directly into provident fund and gratuity calculations, both of which are based on basic pay.

We process payroll for businesses across Raipur and Chhattisgarh, from salary computation through statutory deposits and returns.

⚙️ Step-by-Step Procedure & Workflow

What has changed, and why salary structures need revisiting

The 50 per cent basic wage rule. Under the Code on Wages, basic pay and dearness allowance together must constitute at least half of an employee's total remuneration. Many salary structures built over the years minimise the basic component deliberately, to reduce the provident fund contribution calculated on it — a practice the new rule directly targets, since PF and gratuity are both computed as a percentage of basic pay. A structure with a low basic component now needs to be redesigned, and the redesign itself changes the PF contribution, the gratuity provision, and quite possibly the net take-home pay employees have grown used to, which is worth communicating carefully rather than allowing employees to discover as a surprise on their payslip.

Full and final settlement on separation must now be completed within two working days. This is a considerable tightening from the informal thirty-to-forty-five-day timelines many employers previously treated as normal, and it covers outstanding salary, leave encashment, gratuity where eligible, and statutory bonus, together with the documents an outgoing employee needs — Form 16, PF and ESI records, and any experience or relieving letter due.

Digital record-keeping is now mandatory rather than merely conventional. Wage registers, attendance records, and statutory contribution records must be maintained digitally, month-wise and employee-wise, and payslips must carry prescribed information including gross wages, deductions and contributions individually stated.

State rules are still being finalised as these central codes bed in during 2026, so a business should expect further state-specific notifications rather than treat the framework as fully settled.

Statutory Payroll Deductions, Thresholds & Compliance Calendar

Statutory Component	Applicability Threshold	Employee Contribution	Employer Contribution	Monthly Due Date	Statutory Form / Portal
Employees' Provident Fund (EPF)	20+ Employees (Wage cap ₹15,000/mo)	12% of Basic + DA	12% (3.67% EPF + 8.33% EPS + 0.5% EDLI)	15th of next month	Electronic Challan Return (ECR) / Unified Portal
Employees' State Insurance (ESIC)	10+ / 20+ Employees (Wage <= ₹21,000/mo)	0.75% of Gross Wages	3.25% of Gross Wages	15th of next month	Monthly ESIC Portal Contribution Challan
TDS on Salary (Section 192)	Taxable salary exceeding basic exemption	As per applicable tax slab (New/Old Regime)	Nil (Deductor obligation)	7th of next month (30th Apr for March)	Challan ITNS 281 & Quarterly Form 24Q
Professional Tax (P-Tax CG)	Salary > ₹12,500/mo (Chhattisgarh)	Slab-wise (₹130 - ₹208/mo, max ₹2,500/yr)	Nil (Deduction & deposit)	10th / 30th of next month	Chhattisgarh Commercial Tax Portal Return
Statutory Bonus (Bonus Act)	20+ Employees (Salary <= ₹21,000/mo)	Nil	8.33% to 20% of eligible wages	Within 8 months of FY close (30th Nov)	Annual Form D Return to Labour Dept
Payment of Gratuity	10+ Employees (5+ yrs continuous service)	Nil	15 days wages per year of service (max ₹20L)	Within 30 days of becoming payable	Form L Notice & Form F Nomination Register

Statutory Component: Employees' Provident Fund (EPF)

Applicability Threshold: 20+ Employees (Wage cap ₹15,000/mo)

Employee Contribution: 12% of Basic + DA

Employer Contribution: 12% (3.67% EPF + 8.33% EPS + 0.5% EDLI)

Monthly Due Date: 15th of next month

Statutory Form / Portal: Electronic Challan Return (ECR) / Unified Portal

Statutory Component: Employees' State Insurance (ESIC)

Applicability Threshold: 10+ / 20+ Employees (Wage <= ₹21,000/mo)

Employee Contribution: 0.75% of Gross Wages

Employer Contribution: 3.25% of Gross Wages

Monthly Due Date: 15th of next month

Statutory Form / Portal: Monthly ESIC Portal Contribution Challan

Statutory Component: TDS on Salary (Section 192)

Applicability Threshold: Taxable salary exceeding basic exemption

Employee Contribution: As per applicable tax slab (New/Old Regime)

Employer Contribution: Nil (Deductor obligation)

Monthly Due Date: 7th of next month (30th Apr for March)

Statutory Form / Portal: Challan ITNS 281 & Quarterly Form 24Q

Statutory Component: Professional Tax (P-Tax CG)

Applicability Threshold: Salary > ₹12,500/mo (Chhattisgarh)

Employee Contribution: Slab-wise (₹130 - ₹208/mo, max ₹2,500/yr)

Employer Contribution: Nil (Deduction & deposit)

Monthly Due Date: 10th / 30th of next month

Statutory Form / Portal: Chhattisgarh Commercial Tax Portal Return

Statutory Component: Statutory Bonus (Bonus Act)

Applicability Threshold: 20+ Employees (Salary <= ₹21,000/mo)

Employee Contribution: Nil

Employer Contribution: 8.33% to 20% of eligible wages

Monthly Due Date: Within 8 months of FY close (30th Nov)

Statutory Form / Portal: Annual Form D Return to Labour Dept

Statutory Component: Payment of Gratuity

Applicability Threshold: 10+ Employees (5+ yrs continuous service)

Employee Contribution: Nil

Employer Contribution: 15 days wages per year of service (max ₹20L)

Monthly Due Date: Within 30 days of becoming payable

Statutory Form / Portal: Form L Notice & Form F Nomination Register

The recurring statutory obligations

Provident Fund and ESI, once the relevant employee thresholds are crossed, are dealt with in full on our PF & ESIC Registration page. Payroll processing feeds these obligations directly — the wage figures used for PF and ESI contributions come from the payroll run itself, which is why errors in salary structuring surface as PF and ESI errors downstream.

Tax deducted at source on salary (Section 192), deposited by the 7th of the following month (the 30th of April for the month of March), with quarterly statements filed in Form 24Q under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The annual salary certificate — Form 16 — must be issued to every employee by 15 June following the financial year.

Professional tax, levied by state governments where applicable, with rates, slabs and filing frequency that differ by state — in Chhattisgarh, managed via the Commercial Tax Department portal.

Labour Welfare Fund contributions, required in states that levy them, typically modest in amount but still a compliance obligation with its own filing calendar.

Statutory bonus, under the Payment of Bonus Act, for eligible employees within the prescribed wage limit, calculated and paid annually within 8 months of financial year close.

Gratuity, for employees completing five years of continuous service under the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972, calculated at fifteen days' wages for every completed year of service, based on the last drawn basic salary — which is precisely where the 50 per cent basic wage rule has a direct financial effect.

⚠️ Statutory Penalty & Risk Advisory

Where payroll most often goes wrong

Salary structures minimising the basic component, now squarely targeted by the Code on Wages and requiring genuine restructuring rather than a label change.

Treating professional tax and Labour Welfare Fund as an afterthought, particularly for businesses operating across more than one state, where the rates and even the applicability differ and a single payroll template cannot simply be copied across locations.

Underestimating gratuity as a real, growing liability rather than a distant contingency — with the basic-pay rule now increasing the underlying calculation base, provisioning for it monthly rather than discovering the obligation at an employee's departure is worth doing properly.

Missing the tightened final settlement timeline. Two working days is materially shorter than the informal practice many employers have followed, and a delayed settlement is now a compliance failure in a way it may not have been treated as before.

Payslips that do not carry the prescribed level of detail, now a specific requirement rather than a matter of good practice alone.

📋 Document Checklist & Verification

Scope of our work

We compute monthly payroll, including gross-to-net calculation, statutory deductions and employer contributions; advise on salary structuring to meet the 50 per cent basic wage requirement, including the downstream effect on PF and gratuity; deposit and file TDS on salary in Form 24Q, professional tax and Labour Welfare Fund contributions where applicable; calculate statutory bonus and provision for gratuity; process full and final settlements within the required timeline on separation; issue the annual salary certificate (Form 16) to employees by 15th June; and maintain digital wage and attendance records.

Payroll is handled alongside our general bookkeeping work for a client, since the two draw on the same underlying data and are more accurate and more efficient run together than run separately.

📍 Pandri, Raipur Practice Headquarters

Consult CA in Raipur for Payroll Processing in Raipur

Visit our Head Office at GF-28, Shyam Plaza, Pandri, Raipur or connect directly with our Chartered Accountant partners for end-to-end advisory and statutory compliance.

🏛️ CA in Raipur Hub →📞 +91 86978 14116

What is the new 50 per cent basic wage rule and does it affect us?

Under the Code on Wages, basic pay plus dearness allowance must together constitute at least 50 per cent of an employee's total remuneration. It affects any employer whose salary structures currently minimise the basic component to reduce PF contributions — which was a common structuring choice for years and is now directly targeted. Restructuring affects PF contributions, gratuity accrual, and often the employee's net take-home pay, so it is worth planning and communicating carefully rather than implementing as a sudden payslip change.

How quickly must we complete final settlement when an employee leaves?

Within two working days of the separation date, covering outstanding salary, leave encashment, gratuity where eligible, and statutory bonus, along with documents including the salary certificate (Form 16), PF and ESI records, and any experience letter due. This is considerably faster than the thirty-to-forty-five-day timelines many employers treated as standard practice previously, and payroll processes built around the older, slower timeline need to be revisited.

When must we issue Form 16 to employees?

By 15 June following the end of the financial year. Form 16 is the statutory certificate issued under Section 203 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, containing Part A (tax deducted and deposited via TRACES) and Part B (salary breakdown, allowances, and Chapter VI-A deductions).

Does professional tax apply to our business?

It depends on the state, since professional tax is levied by state governments with their own rates, thresholds and filing frequency. In Chhattisgarh, employers must deduct and remit professional tax monthly for employees earning over ₹12,500/month.

How is gratuity calculated, and has that changed?

Fifteen days' wages for each completed year of service (15/26 x last drawn basic salary x tenure in years), for employees completing five years of continuous service under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. The statutory formula remains the same, but the 50 per cent basic wage rule increases the basic salary base, increasing the overall gratuity liability.

Do we need to maintain payroll records digitally now, or is paper still acceptable?

Digital maintenance is now the required standard — wage registers, attendance records and statutory contribution records must be kept digitally, organised month-wise and employee-wise, and payslips must carry a prescribed level of detail on gross wages, itemized deductions and employer contributions.

Direct Advisory & Partner Review