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'TAIT Knowledge Series’ Workshop on the theme “Effective Administration of Statutory Compliances” on 19th Jan 2017


TAIT, the premier association of IT companies in Mumbai, that comprises of SME sector IT Vendors, Distributors and Reseller Partners organised a ‘Knowledge Series’ Workshop on the theme “Effective Administration of Statutory Compliances”. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Ramesh Soni, Principal Consultant, RLS Consulting, who emphasised that compliance to statutes is in the best interests of cordial employer-employee relationships, and would in turn lead to the sustained growth of the organisation.

Addressing the participating TAIT members Mr. Soni said, “Statutory compliance is a must for every progressive employer and it is important to comply with the laws of the land to make sure that the organisation plays a positive role in encouraging transparency in business through corporate governance best practices. Usually, if not taken care of during the early days of founding of an organisation, it may impact growth and corporate reputation. In the present competitive globalised business environment, it would be very demanding for an employer to handle statutory compliance without the support of a good payroll management solution.”

“There are a number of statutory compliance needs for Indian companies and they must invest a good proportion of their time in understanding and implementing their payroll management solution to make sure they are fully compliant with all relevant legal rules and regulations.If companies do not successfully adhere to statutory compliance requirements, they may end up having to pay penalties, which would cost several times more than complying with legal guidelines in the first place”, Mr. Soni further added.

Mr. Soni talked about key provisions like Provident Fund (PF), Employees State Insurance Scheme (ESIC), Bonus, Gratuity and related rules to help the TAIT members appreciate their significance in running business operations smoothly. Employers need to comply with statutory requirements based on the number of employees they have on their rolls. Employee benefits such as PF and ESIC are applicable when an organisation crosses a strength of 20 employees or more.

Mr. Soni briefed TAIT delegates about the traits of two types of employers in the SME sector – firstly, those who want to make sure all systems and facilities are available from the day an employee joins the organisation, irrespective of their size; secondly, those who would like to deal with statutory issues as they arise.

He went on to state that there are specific Acts (laws) and Rules applicable to businesses, based on the industry and location. Taking up the Maharashtra Shops & Establishments Act, 1948, Mr. Soni said that to safeguard the interests of workers and to regulate the working conditions of employees engaged in shops, commercial establishments, hotels, theatres and other establishments, the Act came into force on 11th January 1948.

Similarly, the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act is another piece of State legislation. The Act defines the terms “apprentice”, “commercial establishment”, “employee”, “establishment”, and “shop”. It is a comprehensive legislation regulating working hours, rest intervals, weekly holidays, spread-over, leave with wages, health and safety, and employment of women and children. It provides for inspection of commercial establishments and shops by inspectors appointed under the Act. However, the Act is not applicable to Chartered Accountants and Legal Practitioners.

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Mr. Rushabh Shah, President, TAIT added, “Adhering to statutory compliance rules is essential for all SME organisations, to secure their businesses from legal difficulties. A profound knowledge of statutory compliance rules and regulations is needed to minimise risks linked with non-compliance. Like other critical business decisions involving branding, marketing, training and hiring of key employees, this aspect merits unwavering focus from the SME owner-manager.”

An attending TAIT member, Mr. Pramod Dalmia, of Spur Electronics said, “It is essential to comply with all relevant legal and statutory requirements if I want to run my business smoothly and fruitfully and serve customers across India. I found the insights shared by our guest speaker highly educative and the session helped to clarify many lingering doubts.” He also requested for synopsis of the session for those members who missed the opportunity to attend the event.

Mr. Samir Parekh, Vice-President, TAIT said, “TAIT is very happy to introduce value additions to benefit our members who have so positively supported us through the years. Addressing the issue of labour laws was the need of the hour because many amongst us launched our businesses as a ‘one man’ show but have since grown to a 100-plus team size. In spite of this, we are unaware of some of the key legal provisions in this domain.

Mr. Samir Mehta, General Secretary, TAIT said, “This workshop helped to open our eyes and ears and put us in the correct frame of mind vis-à-vis personnel management best practices”. He specially appreciated question and answer session which he found quite brainstorming and requested TAIT board members to continue organizing such educative and informative events in future.

Mr. Samir Tapde from Techlink Infoware Pvt Ltd, Mr. Mohan Keshwani from Newtech Computer Services Pvt Ltd. and Mr. Hiren Sheth from Eden Infosol Pvt. Ltd. were some of those attendees who found this session enlightening as many prolonging questions regarding their organisation which would otherwise require legal consultancy were answered by Mr. Soni promptly.

While summing up the session with token of thanks to Mr.Soni, Mr. Rushabh Shah announced “Discover TAIT” initiative and “Market Adda” by encouraging participation of all the members to make it successful.