The HR compliance calendar for Indian employers: monthly and yearly deadlines
PF, ESI, TDS, Professional Tax, quarterly returns and Form 16 - the dates HR and payroll teams need on the wall, and how to stop missing them.
Compliance
Late statutory payments cost interest and penalties, and they are almost always caused by the calendar, not the calculation. Here are the recurring deadlines most employers deal with.
Due dates are set by the government and do change. Treat this as a checklist, and confirm the current dates on the EPFO, ESIC, income tax and your state's professional tax portals.
Every month
| What | Due | Where |
|---|---|---|
| TDS on salary - deposit | 7th of the next month (30 April for March) | Income tax portal / bank |
| PF - ECR upload and payment | 15th of the next month | EPFO unified portal |
| ESI - contribution | 15th of the next month | ESIC portal |
| Professional Tax | Depends on the state (monthly, quarterly or yearly) | State PT portal |
| Labour Welfare Fund | Half-yearly or yearly in states that levy it | State portal |
Every quarter
| Quarter | TDS return (Form 24Q) due |
|---|---|
| April - June | 31 July |
| July - September | 31 October |
| October - December | 31 January |
| January - March | 31 May |
Every year
- Form 16 to employees - by 15 June for the previous financial year.
- Investment declarations - collect in April, proofs by January, so TDS for the last quarter is right.
- ESI contribution periods - April to September and October to March; eligibility is fixed per period.
- Bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act - within eight months of the end of the accounting year, where the Act applies.
How to stop missing dates
- Finalize payroll by the last working day so statutory files are ready on the 1st.
- Generate the PF ECR file and ESI data from payroll, never by retyping.
- Keep one owner and one backup for each filing.
- Reconcile challans with payroll every month, not at year end.
In TezzHR: Statutory Settings hold your PF, ESI and PT configuration; each payroll run calculates the deductions; and the Compliance menu produces the PF ECR file and Form 16 from the same data.
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