Checklist to assist businesses to step into the New Financial Year

How to prepare a checklist to assist businesses to step into the New Financial Year?

The closing of the financial year and the opening of the new financial year are significant timelines for the growth of an organization. The financial year ending is a great opportunity to look within and to analyse and assess the performance of the business, a time to take stock and make your plans for the new financial year to come.

These activities, taking stock, analysing, and planning can be overwhelming tasks at times, but they are the key to running a successful business venture. This is also the time to re-assess your goals and to take corrective measures to enable the achievement of these goals in the forthcoming financial year. The best way to achieve this is by closely scrutinizing your finances and reassessing your financial practices. This is the time to prepare your checklist for the new financial year. This will help you to streamline your workflow and give you the head start to make the new financial year a successful one.

Financial year-end Checklist for businesses!

  • Prepare Key financial statements/documents
  • Conduct statutory Audit
  • Renew all the licenses and registrations
  • Reassess your goals and prepare for the future
  • Review your business and marketing plans
  • Consider financing options for expansion
  • Assess employee performance
  • Self-evaluate
1.  Prepare key Financial statements/documents

Apart from paying the Advance Tax, the key financial statements must be accurately prepared to ascertain the financial position of the company. The key financial statements are the Balance Sheet, the Profit and Loss A/c, and the Cash Flow statement. These financial statements provide the details of the Assets and Liabilities of the company, the Profit or Loss, and the Cash flow position of the company.

Overall they allow you to calculate the current ratios, debts, and profit ratios for that particular year.

2.  Conduct Statutory Audit

A statutory Audit is a must for any business that is registered as a Private Limited Company. All the Books of the Company have to be audited before the financial year-end. However, for businesses that are registered as a partnership firm or LLP having a turnover that is below 40 lakhs then, a Statutory audit is not required.

3.  Renewal of Licences and Registrations

Every business owner is required to keep track of all the licenses or Registrations that they have taken for the conduct of their business. Normally, these licenses/registrations are to be renewed every year, especially before the end of the financial year. This activity has to be taken care of by the end of the financial year.

4.  Reassess your Goals and prepare for the future

The goals that you have set for the business have to be first analysed. List out the goals and try to assess whether you have met those goals. If not, analyse and find out the reasons that you could not achieve your goals. Identify the areas that you have failed. Reassess the goals in light of your strengths and weaknesses. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opposition, and Threat) assessment will greatly assist you in providing better insights and allow you to make critical changes in your business goals and activities.  These insights will help you to plan for the year to come.

5.  Reassess your Business and Marketing plans

The end of the financial year is the ideal time to reassess your Business and marketing plans. This will enable you to review your short and long terms goals and make changes accordingly. It will enable you to review your sales and marketing budgets and get proper insights into better business strategies. This activity will also enable the business to review the market potential and the competition and would also throw light on new business opportunities.

6.  Consider additional finance option

If business expansion is one of the changes you envisage or if you need higher cash flow for the new financial year, then it would be worthwhile to consider additional finance options. The additional finance could be for development projects or adding to the company’s assets like purchasing a vehicle, machinery, or other types of equipment.

You can consult with your Bank for business loans, an overdraft, or a business credit card. The choice would depend on your circumstances. If there is an option to avail of a government grant you can proceed with that option. Crowd funding is also an option that you can explore as it is very commonly used nowadays to promote business, especially for start-ups.

7.  Assess Employee Performance

Employees are a vital cog in any business organization. Keeping the morale of the employees high is important and maintaining their loyalty is vital for growth. For this, you need to review your compensation and benefits structure and make sure they are in line with the industry and your business values. The compensation and the benefits that you offer have to be competitive enough if you are to hold on to your efficient employees and improve employee retention.

Companies that maintain such promotional paths reap significant gains in the loyalty and longevity of their employees. If you are looking to foster job satisfaction and loyalty among the employees you have to not only provide incentives but also be ready with a strong growth path that would empower the employees and boost their morale. This apart, planning a vacation with the employees, especially during the lean periods is another way to maintain job satisfaction among the employees.

8.  Self-evaluation and improving leadership

The earlier nine points in the checklist dealt with the performance of the company and its employees.

This checklist is incomplete if it does not have a point about evaluating the leadership and the leadership team. Every company should take time to reflect on its own leadership and the leadership team.

Objectively evaluate the performance during the year that is going to end. Find out the areas where there were shortcomings. Identify the areas that you think need improvement. This could be in the areas of time management, communication with employees, work culture, employee performance review, your understanding of business financials, business acumen, and your knowledge of the industry.

With this information, you will be able to implement a self-improvement plan for the new financial year. This will enable you to schedule time for yourself to not only learn and improve your business leadership skills but also encourage your leadership team to improve performance for their growth and the company’s growth.

Conclusion

Preparing a checklist for the new financial year is a must for any business. This will help you to objectively reassess the performance of the company and provide insights to make necessary changes wherever required to promote greater growth. This activity will help you to prepare better for the forthcoming financial year and guide you to improve your all-around performance.

This is also the time for certain companies, especially those that have challenges in preparing accurate payroll and handling all Statutory compliance issues, to introspect and decide whether they need to get expert assistance in handling their Payroll and HR management. GetifyHR has been a leader in outsourcing Payroll and HR management and has the expertise and technology to handle this critical task with a great degree of accuracy and sophistication. Well, we will be able to handle the financial year-end pressures and ensure a smooth transition to the new financial year with the least bit of stress. Stay 100% compliant with GetifyHR!

 

Budget 2023

Budget 2023 and the effect on salaried employees

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, the honorable Finance Minister, presented the Union Budget 2023 in Parliament on 1st February 2023. This is the last full-year budget to be presented by this government before the national elections in 2024. The Budget has been widely welcomed by all sections of society and has been hailed as growth-oriented, forward-looking, and one that will support inclusive growth. In this article, we shall analyze how the 2023 budget would affect the salaried class.

The Budget has several proposals for the benefit of taxpayers in the lowest and highest tax bracket.

The proposals also include several proposals for the benefit of salaried individuals, senior citizens, and pensioners. In her budget speech, the Finance Minister has some important announcements for hardworking middle-class citizens who pay taxes. This tax regime called the new income tax slabs is set to be the default regime in the future.

However, the old tax regime has not been abolished and taxpayers now have the option to choose between these two regimes when paying taxes.

Major changes in Income Tax slabs & rates as proposed in budget 2023.

The first change made in the budget 2023 relates to the rebate on Income tax. Rebate limit of Personal Income Tax to be increased to ₹ 7.0 lakh from the current ₹ 5.0 lakh in the new tax regime.  Thus, persons in the new tax regime with income up to ₹ 7.0 lakh need not pay any tax.

The tax structure in the new personal income tax regime, introduced in 2020 with six income slabs to change by reducing the number of slabs to five and increasing the tax exemption limit to ₹ 3.0 lakh.

The tax rates as per the Old and New regimes are given hereunder.

Old Income tax regime: (Existing & Continuing)
Old Income tax slab Income tax rates
Income slab of 2.5 lakh Nil
Income slab of 2.5 to 5.0 lakh 5%
Income slab of 5.0 to 10.0 lakh 20%
Income slab of 10.0 lakh and above 30%
New Income tax regime (Existing and applicable for FY 22-23)
New Income tax slab ( Previous) Income tax rates
Income slab of 2.5 lakh Nil
Income slab of 2.5 to 5.0 lakh 5%
Income slab of 5.0 to 7.5 lakh 10%
Income slab of 7.5 to 10.0 lakh 15%
Income slab of 10.0 to 12.5 lakh 20%
Income slab of 12.5 to 15.0 lakh 25%
Income slab of 15.0 lakh and above 30%
New Income tax regime (Revised in Budget 2023)(For FY 23-24)
New Income tax slab (Revised) Income tax rates
Income slab of 3.0 lakh Nil
Income slab of 3.0 to 6.0 lakh 5%
Income slab of 6.0 to 9.0 lakh 10%
Income slab of 9.0 to 12.0 lakh 15%
Income slab of 12.0 to 15.0 lakh 20%
Income slab of 15.0 and above 30%

The tax payers still have the option to choose between these two regimes when paying taxes.

In addition to the above, there is a reduction in surcharge on the rate of the highest tax rate in the country of 42.74%, which is the highest in the world, from 37% to 25%. With this reduction, the maximum rate would be 39%.

The Finance Minister has also proposed to extend the benefit of standard deductions to the new tax regime. Each salaried person with an income of ₹15.5 lakhs or more will thus benefit by ₹ 50,000.

Under the old tax regime, these are some of the income tax deductions that you can claim:
  • Standard deductions
  • HRA and Leave Travel Allowance
  • Interest on Home loans
  • Medical Insurance Premium
  • Interest on Education loan
The new tax regime is different in two aspects:
  • The government has reduced the income slabs accompanied by lower tax rates.
  • All tax exemptions and deductions claimed under the old regime will not be available under the new regime.

The advantage here is that the taxpayer has the liberty to decide where and how to save/invest their money. This means you no longer have to rush to tax-saving schemes or investments that may not be in line with your financial needs.

PAN is to be used as a common identifier!

The Finance Minister has announced that the Permanent Account Number (PAN) will be used as common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies. PAN is the 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted by the Income-tax Department to a person, firm, or entity. This move would assist in further promoting ease of doing business in the country.

KYC process to be simplified

The Finance Minister has announced that a system of unified filing process will be set up to enable agencies to get all data from a common portal as per the choice of those filing returns.

For individuals Digilocker and Aadhar will serve as a “foundational identity” and with this facility changes in address or identity will be reflected across other platforms. This means that the government is working to synchronize citizens’ data across multiple portals when just Aadhar is updated. As of now when you update your Aadhar it does not update the changes say in the Income Tax portal. This is now set to change.

The Digital India program by the Government of India has introduced the Digilocker initiative where citizens can get authentic documents/certificates in digital format from the original issuers of these certificates. The aim is to eliminate or minimize the use of physical documents to enhance the effectiveness of service delivery paving the way for hassle-free and friendly service to the citizens.

Conclusion

These announcements made in the Union Budget 2023 will benefit the salaried employees and leave more disposable income in the hands of individuals thus enabling higher investments. We at GetifyHR are fully prepared to handle these changes and support our clients in seamlessly running their statutory compliance requirements and keeping them fully compliant always.

January 23 is the right time to outsource your Payroll to GetifyHR!

January 2023 is the right time to outsource your Payroll to GetifyHR!

When is the right time to outsource your Payroll? Well, this is the question that has put business owners in a real dilemma. On the one hand, they have to be right with the timing and on the other hand, they have to be right with the choice of the perfect outsourcer. A difficult task indeed for any establishment whether big or small.

Payroll processing is one of the most important non-core activities and will remain so in the future. Its importance has manifested in companies opting to outsource the process with the view to not only bring greater accuracy but also to keep the company fully compliant with all the Statutory Compliance rules and regulations. By doing so establishments have been able to create greater harmony in the workplace and have been on the right side of all tax and compliance laws.

The goal of every establishment is to achieve greater growth and as it grows the greater the need to have a perfectly working system to handle all compliance issues. This is not an easy task and one way to keep things moving smoothly is by outsourcing this process to a service provider. By outsourcing payroll, companies will be able to prioritize core business processes and strategies to guide the business toward its goal.

In this article, we will discuss the ideal time to outsource the payroll process to an external service provider and why GetifyHR would be the best choice to undertake the process.

When to Outsource your Payroll?

The beginning of the year is the ideal time to go live with your payroll processing. While this may not be the beginning of the financial year followed in India, which is from 1st April onwards, we at GetifyHR would recommend the month of January to go live with payroll processing through a service provider.

This is the time when employees normally resign and move on to greener pastures. Hiring new hands and retraining them is a task that most establishments shun and the sensible solution is to perfect the payroll processing activity so that you can avoid hiring employees for both the core activity and to exclusively handle the payroll process.

When you start your payroll process through an outsourcer during the month of January, you have a clear 3 months to complete the parallel runs and perfect the system. This allows the time to verify and correct all employee records and reports and streamline the demands of statutory compliance.

This will enable you to start the new financial year on a clean slate and give you adequate time to straighten all loose ends and see that you are starting the process perfectly.

The benefits of outsourcing the payroll!

Let’s briefly delve into the benefits of outsourcing your payroll processing to an external service provider. Payroll processing remains the most popular area among the non-core processes that organizations tend to outsource and their benefits are many.

1.  Leads to lower Upfront Investment

One of the most important benefits of outsourcing Payroll is that it leads to lowering the investments upfront.  Outsourcing helps in reducing the investment on costly hardware and accessories as the package relies on high-end cloud technology; therefore you can do away with costly hardware onsite.

2.  Maintain accurate records

Having a perfectly running payroll that generates highly accurate payslips and all related records remains the top requirement of every organization. Payroll generated with errors can create great disharmony in the workplace and throw all activities out of gear. This will inevitably affect the growth of the organization. Outsourcing assures you of a perfectly running payroll process that will help you to maintain highly accurate records, and this will go a long way in promoting workplace harmony and enhancing growth.

3.  Comprehensive Payroll Support

Outsourcing the Payroll ensures comprehensive payroll support. This means that all requirements of payroll and HR management are seamlessly handled so that your month-end stress is drastically reduced.  The high level of integration that these packages achieve enables smooth and comprehensive payroll operations. All the modules are perfectly integrated thus reducing the need for frequent key-ins.

For the management the biggest need is to have access to an array of highly useful MIS reports as and when required, and this is what you get when you outsource. Armed with these reports, the management will be in a position to take timely decisions that would ultimately lead to greater growth.

Data security is a vital factor when you are handling sensitive employee data. In-house payroll processing may not be secure enough and the leak of sensitive data is always a possibility. When you outsource the process to a service provider, you can greatly reduce the possibility of a leak of sensitive data. Outsourcers have a robust security system in place with proper backup and multiple server locations to ensure a high level of data security.

4.  Leveraging expertise to ensure compliance

Experts with deep knowledge of all payroll and compliance norms man outsourcing service agencies. By outsourcing you are shifting the onus of keeping the organization compliant to a team of highly efficient individuals. Outsourcing the payroll and HR process will enable companies to minimize compliance and regulatory risks. This will ensure that the company is compliant at all times.

There are a few more reasons why you should outsource your payroll to an external service provider. However, we shall take a detour from that topic and focus on why you should outsource to GetifyHR.

Why GetifyHR?

GetifyHR is one of the leading Payroll and HRMS outsourcing companies based out of Coimbatore. With a vast clientele spread across the country, we have been providing excellent service across states and platforms.

Our vision is to make GetifyHR one of the leading outsourcers in the industry. Simplifying the rather complex Payroll and HR operations has been our goal and this we have achieved through our commitment and dedication to providing the very best to our clients.

Ours is a highly efficient and fully functional module that can manage these complex operations in any organization. This is a high-end module using the latest cloud-based technology. The module fully automates the payroll and HR processes and empowers employees with a highly efficient self-service module. The important features of our module are briefly described hereunder.

Payroll Module

This is a module that simplifies the rather cumbersome and complex payroll process. The module is highly customizable and is fully integrated to maintain all the requirements of Payroll processing and HR management.

This includes generating highly accurate Payslips and the relevant reports, handling all statutory compliance requirements, and maintaining employee Leave & Attendance, and Recruitment. The module ensures the generation of accurate payslips and on-time disbursement of salaries every month. All reports required to keep the company compliant are readily available and it is only a matter of remitting the deductions to the authorities.

These activities can be performed without a hitch every month seamlessly and smoothly.

The module ensures accurate calculation of salaries and timely disbursement every month. This will pave the way for greater harmony within the workplace.

  • Salaries can be disbursed by cash, or cheque or can be directly transferred to the employees’ bank accounts
  • The payments can be released either Batch wise or Bank wise
  • Track the status of all cash and cheque payments.

Statutory Compliance Module

This module helps you to save precious time that you would have spent keeping yourself updated of the changes in compliance rules. The changes in EPF, ESI, and other labour laws are immediately updated in the system.

Similarly, changes in tax slabs are updated as and when announced so that the employees do not lose the benefit.

In other words, GetifyHR frees you from the burden of updating the changes in statutory rules and regulations and creates a stress-free month-end operation.

GetifyHR’s outsourcing module allows you to perform the following tasks:

  • Calculate PF deductions and generate ECR
  • Compute ESI
  • Calculate state-specific Professional Tax component
  • Calculate TDS and generate the returns
  • Generate Form 24Q, Form 16 and Form 12BA
  • LWF calculations and deductions
  • Bonus calculations.

Excellent Reporting

Our Payroll module provides access to more than 150 MIS reports. You can customize the reports for your specific needs. Additionally, payroll analytics provide insightful details that help you to take the right decisions at the appropriate time. The reports include…

  • A large array of MIS Reports
  • Reports and Forms for Statutory Compliance requirements
  • Reconciliation and other reports specific to the Accounts department.

Conclusion

The right time to outsource the Payroll and HR operations and make your choice of the right outsourcer is an onerous task for any business owner. Choosing the right time is best left to the management as they know their situation better than anyone else. However, we have suggested January to be the ideal time purely taking into consideration the beginning of the financial year. Taking such a decision would enable the user to be ready to go live beginning in April when the new financial year begins. But again the choice is best left to the management.

Choosing GetifyHR to outsource the Payroll process is again the ideal choice considering that we enjoy a sound reputation in the industry. We rank among the top outsourcers in the country with a large number of satisfied customers spread across the country. The user-friendly interface and varied functionalities incorporated in this package will not only provide accurate payslips and insightful reports but will also enable immediate updation of changes effected in compliance rules and regulations. We are here to simplify the task and amplify your vision towards greater growth.

Holidays list to labour office

When do we need to declare the Holiday List to the Labour Officer?

Introduction

We are closing in on the last few days of an eventful year. The excitement of celebrating Christmas and welcoming the New Year has never diminished and never will. But one set of people is busy formulating the New Holiday List for the forthcoming year.

Yes, HR managers in companies, both large and small are engrossed in preparing the holiday list for filing with the concerned Labour Officer at the end of the year.

Holidays are declared under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1981. Though they apply to all government departments and more particularly Banks, all establishments in the public and private sectors irrespective of the laws under which they are formed have to adopt these holidays. It is mandatory to adopt a pattern of national and festival holidays in the country. In addition to these, there is the option of granting restricted holidays to employees.

National Holidays

The three National Holidays observed in India are Republic Day (Jan. 26), Independence Day (Aug. 15), and Gandhi Jayanthi (Oct. 2), however, in some states, May 1 (Workers Day) is also declared as a National Holiday. On these days all establishments irrespective of what law they come under should necessarily remain closed. If for some reason the establishment needs to function on these days, they need to get prior approval from the concerned authority. In case employees work on national holidays, then they are entitled to get double wages for the day. The laws regarding national holidays are subject to Central legislation, and some states have made provisions to claim compensatory leave or pay double wages for working on those days.

Festival Holidays

Festival Holidays are based on local festivals and, therefore, may differ from state to state and also could depend on the company policies. The number of holidays would differ from state to state based on the festivals celebrated in that particular state.

Restricted Holidays

A restricted holiday is an optional public holiday that can be availed by a particular set of employees celebrating a special occasion. On a National or Festival holiday, the entire establishment is closed, whereas; on a Restricted Holiday only a particular group of employees avail of the holiday.

A Restricted Holiday enables the organization to serve its customers with a fewer number of employees.

Employees on the other hand get the benefit of claiming paid leave of absence on 2 or 3 restricted holidays during the year. These restricted holidays are marked as optional in the holiday list and are valid only for the specific days mentioned therein.

Declaring the Holiday List

The employer has to submit the finalized Holiday List to the concerned authority for approval in the form as stipulated in each state. In Tamil Nadu, one has to get approval from the Asst. Inspector of Labour/Labour Inspector/Labour Officer.  The details of the forms required for submission/acceptance given hereunder pertain to the state of TamilNadu.

The List Festival Holidays has to be submitted to the Labour Officer in Form No: I.

A notice in Form No: II has to be exhibited in the establishment and a copy has to be submitted to the Labour Officer.  The form should specify the period within which objections or suggestions of the employees referred to in sub-rule (3) will be received.

Where the employer or a majority of employees or any trade union representing a vast number of employees desires a change in the festivals, they may apply to the Labour Officer in Form IV, in duplicate indicating the changes.  The Labour Officer will communicate these changes to the employer in Form III in duplicate. The employer has to display a copy of this communication on the notice board within 7 days of receipt.

The employer should submit a statement under sub-rule (1) of rule 5 in Form V to the Labour Officer indicating the National and Festival Holidays allowed for that calendar year.  The last date for submission of this form is 31st of December every year.  The employer has to display a copy of this statement in a prominent location on the premises.

In all 9 holidays have to be declared in a year (3/4 national holidays and 4/5 festival holidays). The number of holidays would vary from state to state as each state has its festivals and policies on approving holidays. The employer should submit the finalized Holiday List in the stipulated form to the authorities before 31st December of each year for approval.

Conclusion

Preparing the Holiday List and Leave entitlement of employees is a complex task that needs a lot of thought and effort. A lot of effort goes into framing the company’s leave policy and the HR team would be hard-pressed to achieve this task. GetifyHR has years of experience in framing such leave policies for organizations spread across the country and is also adept in formulating National Holiday and Festival Holiday lists across multiple states. Our Payroll and HR management module facilitates simplifying this task and makes it easier for handling the Holidays and Leave eligibility of employees. Associate with us now for seamless handling of all Payroll Processing, Statutory Compliance issues and Leave and Attendance management.

Labour Welfare Fund

Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Fund New Amendment


The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly introduced a Bill in the Legislative Assembly of the State on 6th September 2021, called the Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Fund (Amendment) Act, 2021. The Act amends the Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972 with regard to the contribution towards the TNLWF. By this amendment, changes were made in the contribution towards the fund from the employee, employer and the government.

However, by the Notification issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu vide G.O. Ms. No.160 dated 2nd December 2022, the amount of contribution has been further substituted as follows:

1. The employee contribution has been substituted from the earlier sum not exceeding ₹ 10 per year to a sum not exceeding ₹ 20 per year.

2. The employer contribution has been substituted from the earlier sum not exceeding ₹ 20 per year to a sum not exceeding ₹ 40 per year.

3. The Government contribution has been substituted from the earlier sum not exceeding ₹ 10 per year to a sum not exceeding ₹ 20 per year.

G.O Copy link


Changes have been introduced in various labour laws across the country and most companies are hard-pressed to keep track of these changes. GetifyHR has been providing highly efficient service to companies to handle Payroll Processing, Leave and Attendance, Statutory Compliance requirements, etc. Importantly, GetifyHr has enabled companies to be fully updated of all the frequent changes in the different labour laws in operation across the country. With our high-end, cloud-based payroll module we have been able to keep our clients fully compliant of all the statutory rules and regulations.
PF and ESI Inspections

EPF and ESI Inspection criteria and the documents to be produced before the Inspectors!

The need to ensure social-economic justice for the people and establish a Welfare state is enshrined in the Constitution of India. Employees, especially in the private sector found themselves in trouble once they retired.

To alleviate this problem the government introduced a long-term savings scheme that would support them in retirement or superannuation. This legislation is the Employees’ Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (EPF and MP Act).

Similarly, there was a need to safeguard the lives of employees against the effect of sickness, physical disability, and death due to the nature of work. The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 was legislated by the government to take care of this aspect. This Act supports them during such eventualities.

Inspection Policy for EPF and ESI

Both these Acts have proper guidelines on the inspection of the registered entities under the Act. In this article, we shall delve into the criteria for inspection and the documents that are required to be produced during such inspections.

EPF Inspection criteria

Inspection guidelines have been passed to achieve the objectives of simplifying business regulation and bring in transparency and accountability to labour inspections.

The inspections can be either mandatory or optional.

Mandatory Inspections

Inspections are mandatory under these conditions:

  1. All new covered/registered establishments are prone to mandatory inspections.
  2. All establishments registered on the Electronic Challan cum Return Portal (ECR) that are not marked as closed and are not complying.
  3. All establishments that have sent in a closure request.
Optional Inspections

Optional Inspections are undertaken under the following conditions:

  1. When the remittances towards EPF drop in excess of Rs:10,000
  2. Membership drops in excess of 50 members
  3. All other units where there is a weightage drop of 20%.
Inspection procedure

Normally the establishment is informed about the inspection and these are carried out during normal working hours. At the time of inspection the following documents have to be produced:

A 100-page notebook that is generally available in Labour Law Stationery Book stores should be kept ready for the Inspector to note his/her remarks. All other records/registers in respect of EPF have to be submitted for inspection and they are:

  1. Attendance Register or Muster Roll
  2. Wage/Salary Register
  3. Bank Statement
  4. Ledger/Cash Book/Vouchers
  5. Copies of the Audited Balance Sheet
  6. Challan Copies
  7. EPF Code Allotment Letter & Form 5A
  8. Bonus Register
  9. Overtime Register
  10. Active UAN List
  11. List of Contractors, nature of work, and compliance made by the

The Inspector, after the inspection, has to note down his/her remarks in the Inspection Book and sign the same.

ESI Inspection criteria

ESI Inspections also follow the same pattern as EPF.

  1. All new units that are covered/registered.
  2. All establishments that have defaulted for a period of 6 months
  3. Units that have made closure requests.
  4. Units where no inspection has been carried out in the last 3 years.
  5. Whenever such inspection is required by Central Data Analysis Unit (CDAU).
  6. When there is a 30% drop in the contribution when compared to the previous contribution period. The top 30% of such units will be inspected.
  7. When there is a drop in the number of employees by 30% and above when compared to the previous contribution period (over a period of 6 months). The top 30% of such units are to be inspected.
  8. Security/Manpower agencies that employ more than 250 employees where inspection has not been conducted in the last 2 years. The top 30% of such units are to be inspected.
  9. Any other units that do not fall into any of the above categories. The top 10% of such units are inspected.
 Inspection procedure

Normally the units are informed about the inspection and these are carried out during normal working hours. At the time of inspection the following documents have to be produced:

  1. Attendance Register
  2. Wages or Salary Register
  3. Bank Statement
  4. Ledger/Cash Book/Vouchers
  5. Copies of the Audited Balance Sheet
  6. Challan copies
  7. ESIC Form 32 register
  8. Accident Book under Rule 66
  9. All other documents related to payments made to employees
  10. List of Contractors, nature of work, and compliance made by them.
Conclusion

The Inspection procedure for both EPF and ESIC are very similar. The Registered units have to be fully prepared with all the relevant records/registers during the time of inspection. Non-availability of such records or registers will be viewed seriously and the authorities are empowered to take strict action against such units.

GetifyHR, which has years of experience in handling these matters can provide the ideal solution for companies to go through these procedures without any stress. Our Payroll and HR module can provide all the required inputs to the authorities as and when required and in the process keep the company fully compliant at all times.

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Top 10 reasons why Payroll Outsourcing makes smart business sense!

Payroll Processing has always been a very challenging task especially when the workforce is fairly large. When we think of Payroll, we are not just thinking of generating the payslips. The entire gamut of Payroll Processing includes Attendance and Leave Management, Statutory Compliance, and Recruitment. All these aspects have to be perfectly integrated and work seamlessly if you are to run your payroll error-free.

The best option is to outsource this activity to a reputed service provider that could relieve HR from the pressures involved in maintaining the payroll in-house. In this article, we endeavor to familiarize you with the 10 compelling reasons on why you should outsource Payroll Processing.

1.  Allow the HR to focus on core business activities

The HR teams are hard-pressed to handle payroll processing and there is no denying the fact that this activity is taking up too much of their valuable time. HR teams are supposed to focus more on talent management, improving the work culture, evaluating and enhancing performance, training and development, hiring and retaining top talent, etc. On the contrary, they are forced to focus on the mundane activity of payroll processing. By relieving the HR team from this activity, you free them to focus on core business activity.  This will help the business to grow.

2.  Saving on costs

Outsourcing Payroll saves money. When you manage payroll in-house your expenses will soar as you not only need to hire a workforce to specifically handle this task, but you also have to provide the infrastructure, both hardware, and software. When you outsource you can cut costs and reduce errors.

3.  Save time

Payroll processing requires a great deal of time and attention to detail when performed in-house. The process involves generating the payslips and at the same time calculating leaves and benefits and updating the entitlements and deductions. When you outsource this activity you can save time in a process that is routine and very repetitive.

4.  Enhance Productivity

Payroll processing is a mundane activity that is cumbersome and requires a lot of adjustments to frequent changes. Time is of the essence in any organization and payroll processing consumes a lot of time and effort. However, when you outsource this task to a Service Provider, you are improving the working of the employees and thereby enhancing productivity.

5.  Improve Accuracy

Payroll processing is prone to errors and these errors negatively impact the working of the company.  Inaccuracies in Payroll will attract penalties from the government departments and create friction with the employees. Error-free payroll processing is a must and the best option to achieve this is by outsourcing to a qualified service provider. When you outsource your payroll you can generate error-free and highly accurate reports as they use high-end technology supported by a team of highly qualified professionals.

6.  High Level of Data Confidentiality & Security

Payroll involves the vital data of employees. Any leakage of such data would give rise to lawsuits, discontent, and damage to the reputation of the company. The privacy of this data is paramount and a reputed service provider will guarantee high security, strong internal controls, and restricted access to the data.  Moreover, the service provider will guarantee confidentiality and security with contractual rights to damages in case of breach of contract.

7.  High level of Integration

The package offered by service providers comes with a high degree of integration. All the modules namely, Payroll, Attendance & Leave management, and Statutory Compliance are seamlessly integrated so that you can get all your reports in real-time with a great degree of accuracy. This is a great advantage to the company as all information is available to the various departments as and when needed.

8.  Keeping the Company Compliant

This is a very vital factor for any business. Following the Statutory Compliance rules and regulations is a must for all businesses.

Whether it is handling EPF, ESI, Income tax, Professional Tax, or other Labour laws, any errors would have serious ramifications for the company. The statutory rules and regulations are prone to change frequently, but service providers can handle these changes without any delay. This will enable the business to be compliant always and avoid legal issues or paying penalties to the concerned government departments.

9.  Quickens Turnaround time

Outsourcing the Payroll process enables a quicker turnaround time. The outcome of outsourcing is on-time data processing, fewer errors, accurate reporting, and the support of a professional & dedicated team.

Outsourcing makes employee management easier and smoother and thus provides a quick turnaround time.

10.  Work without Pressures

Apart from the cost & time-saving advantages, outsourcing your payroll allows you to work without any pressure. ‘Lesser the headache, better the working’. When you outsource payroll, you can take your mind off paying employees on time, calculating & paying the taxes, or distributing the payslips. When your mind is off these pressures, all other activities of the business work smoothly, thus paving the way for greater growth.

Conclusion

Outsourcing your payroll processing to a qualified service provider can reap a lot of benefits for the business. One important reason is that payroll processing is their core area of expertise. They are manned by professional staff that brings in a wealth of experience that enables accurate processing and full compliance with statutory rules and regulations.

GetifyHR with its high-end cloud-based technology offers the best solution for all your payroll needs. If you are on the lookout for an outsourcer, you don’t have to look any further. Click here for further information or call us to help you make a decision.

payroll tax

Tax obligations of Businesses – Corporate Tax and Payroll Tax – A brief tour

Introduction

Income tax is the tax levied by the government on the income earned by an individual or corporate in a particular year. The Act is called Incometax Act, 1961 and this came into force on the 1st of April 1962. Companies are liable to pay their corporate tax dues and also deduct the tax dues from the salaries of those employees who are liable to pay tax in the form of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) and remit to the government.

What is Income as per the Act?

The word Income is defined under section 2(24) of the IT Act. For a businessman, the profits and gains he makes will constitute income. This is corporate tax.  Corporate tax is a direct tax levied on the net income or profit of a corporate entity from their business, whether domestic or foreign.

For an employee who is liable to pay tax as per the Act, the income constitutes Basic salary and also includes salary advance, Leave Encashment, Commissions Earned, Annuity and Gratuity. The employer deducts the tax liability from the salary of the employee who is liable to pay tax and remits to the government account. This is Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)

For Professionals & Freelancers, the earnings from different sources like professional fees, other incomes, etc form part of the income.

For a landlord, the rental received from part of the income. Similarly, capital gains from the sale of property or shares and buying of assets are also considered income.

However, certain incomes like the interest earned on Public Provident Fund (PPF) are exempt from tax.

The Assessee

The corporate entity or the person who is liable to pay Income tax and who is required to file the Income tax Return (ITR) is known as an Assessee. Accordingly, any business that has reached the threshold for paying tax is an assessee and any employee who is liable to pay tax is also an assessee.

The Assesse has to file the Income tax Return for each Assessment Year. Here we have to familiarize ourselves with two terms Financial Year and Assessment Year. The Financial Year is the period during which you earned the income and the Assessment Year is the succeeding year when you file your return for the previous year.

PAN & TAN

PAN is a ten-digit unique alphanumeric number issued by the Income tax Department. PAN which is the abbreviation for Permanent Account Number is a prerequisite for filing IT Returns. The IT Department can trace all transactions, returns, refunds, and other activities relating to Income tax through PAN.

TAN refers to Tax Deduction Number. This is a 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted to those who are liable to deduct TDS by the IT Department.

The obligation of the Business

Corporate Tax obligations

As a business entity, the employer has to pay corporate tax once they become liable to pay tax as per the IT Act, 1961. One of the basic conditions for paying IT is if your income exceeds Rs:2,50,000/- in a Financial Year. The tax on income for a financial year has to be paid to the IT Department during the succeeding year, which is known as the assessment year.

However, there are provisions to pay tax in advance based on estimated income for that particular year. In case the advance tax paid is more than the actual tax to be paid, then the excess tax paid is refunded to the assessee.

Payroll Tax obligations

Payroll tax is the tax an employee has to pay to the IT department after deducting the amount from the salaries of his employees who are liable to pay tax. Any employee whose income, in this case, the salary, exceeds Rs:2,50,000/- in a Financial Year is liable to pay Income tax. As per sec.192 of the Income tax Act, the employer is required to deduct tax at source from the salaries payable to an employee during the financial year. The tax liability of the employee is determined by the rate as applicable during the particular year. Every month, 1/12 of the net tax liability should be deducted from the employee’s salary along with a 3% Education Cess on Income tax. This has to be remitted to the IT department within the prescribed time as per sec.200 of the IT Act.

Further, the employer or deductor is required to furnish a certificate to the employee giving particulars of the tax deducted. The certificate has to be issued in Form No.16. Similarly, it is mandatory to file a return that certifies the deduction of tax and payment along with the required details. The authorized person has to sign and submit this to the Department. The employer has to quote the TAN and PAN numbers of all employees in all the certificates and returns.

When an employer fails to deduct tax, he is liable to pay interest. In the event of the employer deducting tax but not paying the tax to the department, he is in default and is, therefore, liable for penal action.

Conclusion

The employer has multiple obligations when it comes to paying Income tax. From the business point of view, the employer has to pay corporate tax under the prevailing rates. From the employee’s point of view, he has to efficiently manage the tax liabilities of each employee and calculate the TDS, deduct the amount from the salaries and remit the same to the department.

This is an ongoing process and the employer has to show great efficiency in managing these issues.

The TDS part can be efficiently managed by outsourcing to a third party who can efficiently manage all requirements of payroll that includes generating payslips, managing attendance and leave, and all statutory requirements like EPF, ESI, Incometax, and Professional Tax.

GtifyHR, one of the leading Payroll and HR outsourcing companies in the region offers a technology-driven cloud-based package that handles Payroll and Statutory requirement issues in an efficient and simplistic manner. Outsourcing Payroll operations is the best solution to overcome the problems associated with handling TDS and other tax-related issues.

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March Compliance Canlendar

Tax Compliance Calendar for March 2022 covers the important dates for Incometax Returns filing, GST(GSTR1, GSTR3B & RET1), TDS payment & filing, ROC from April 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022 primarily for Individuals, Professionals & SMEs.

Tax HeadParticulars of ComplianceDue Date
TAX DEDUCTION AT SOURCEPayment of TDS to GovernmentMar-07
Payment of TCS to GovernmentMar-07
INCOME TAXITR for AY 2021-22 for assesses whose books are required to be audited us 44ABMar-15
Due date for Linking of PAN with AadhaarMar-30
Tax Planning & Book Closure Plan for FY 2021-22Mar-31
Due date for Revised or Belated Income Tax Filing for AY 2021 -22Mar-31
ADVANCE TAXPayment of Advance Tax by Non-CorporatesMar-15
Payment of Advance Tax by CorporatesMar-15
ROCAOC-4, AOC-4 (CFS), AOC-4 (XBRL), AOC-4 Non XBRL Filing for Companies & OPCMar-15
MGT 7 Filing for Companies & OPCMar-31
GST RETURN FOR ANY REGULAR BUSINESSFiling of GSTR 1 – Turnover>5Cr or wTho opt for monthly filingMar-11
Filing of GSTR 1/IFF – who opt for QRMPMar-13
Filing of GSTR 3B – Turnover>5Cr or wTho opt for monthly filingMar-20
Payment – PMT 06 – who opt for QRMPMar-25
GSTR-4 (FY 2020-21)Mar-31
PROVIDENT FUND ESIPayment of PF ContributionsMar-15
Payment of ESI ContributionsMar-15
PROFESSIONAL TAXPayment of Professional Tax in TamilnaduMar-31

This calendar would now be available for every month in a year specifying the important dates for that particular month. This information will be very useful for businesses & individuals to regularize the monthly returns filing and payments. Associating with GetifyHR will not only provide high end technology to process the payroll and manage Statutory Compliance issues, but also prioritizes the important dates to be fully compliant.

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Aatmanirbar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY Scheme)

  • What is ABRY Scheme?.

ABRY Scheme ( Aatmanirbar Bharat Rozgar Yojana Scheme) is announced to incentivize the employers who registered with EPFO. Employer’s can avail this benefit by recruiting freshers or the employee’s who lost their job during the period (01/03/2020 – 30/09/2020).

Government will pay both Employee & Employer EPF contribution if the employer meets ABRY Scheme conditions.

What are the Scheme Conditions:

Fresh Employment – Employee who joined on or after 01/10/2020 and wages is less than Rs.15,000/- is eligible for ABRY Scheme.

Experienced Employment – Employee who resigned from previous employment during the period 01/03/2020 – 30/09/2020 and joined with present employer on or after 01/10/2020 is eligible for ABRY Scheme.

* Wages means on which contribution is payable in terms of section 6 of EPF & MP Act 1952.

Scheme Validity:

  • The scheme is valid for the joiners during the period 01/10/2020 – 30/06/2021
  • Again EPFO has extended the ABRY scheme registration date from 30-June-2021 to 31-March-2022.
  • Employees & Employers will get this benefit for next 2 years from the joining date.

Click here to know more about the scheme.

Feel free to call incase if any clarifications:

Name: Dinesh Ramakrishnan

Email: sales@getifyhr.com

Phone: 0422 2969666 (or) 3513520

Mobile: +91 97897 29394