pvtltd.co

Operations

Payroll Processing Services

Monthly payroll from gross to net: salary computation, TDS deducted under s.392, Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961) and deposited by the 7th, PF and ESI deducted and paid by the 15th, professional tax and LWF, with Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q), ECR, and Form 130 (earlier Form 16) issued by 31 May.

Reviewed by CA Harun Raaj, ICAI Reg. No. 238303·Last reviewed:
Discuss with usTypical timelinePayroll

We compute gross-to-net salary, deduct and deposit TDS (by the 7th; s.392, Income-tax Act 2025, earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961), PF and ESI (by the 15th), professional tax and LWF, file Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q) quarterly and the ECR monthly, and issue Form 130 (earlier Form 16) by 15 June — so payroll never misses a deposit deadline.

What is included
  • • Employee onboarding and statutory applicability check
  • • Monthly gross-to-net computation
  • • TDS, PF, ESI, PT and LWF deduction and deposit
  • • Challan 281, ECR and Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q) filings
  • • Form 130 (earlier Form 16) issuance and reconciliation
  • • Full-and-final settlement support
Documents required
  • • Employment contracts and salary structures
  • • PAN, Aadhaar, UAN and IP numbers of employees
  • • Bank account details and prior month payroll data
  • • Form 12BB declarations and proof of investments
  • • Leavers' records for full-and-final settlement
Government fees

See the fee table below for the statutory filing charge and common delay logic.

Legal basis
  • • s.392, Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961)
  • • Section 6 of the EPF Act 1952
  • • Section 39 of the ESI Act 1948
  • • Para 38 of the EPF Scheme 1952
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Monthly retainer. This service runs on a recurring monthly cycle — payroll, packs, or books land every month. Start at the link above with the triggering document; we confirm the monthly fee and delivery cadence after review, and the retainer renews until you cancel.

Process

How the service works

The workflow is built to be predictable: document collection, legal review, filing, and post-filing follow-through.

Step 1Onboard

Onboard the employee set

We collect contracts, salary structures, PAN/Aadhaar/UAN/IP details, and check PF, ESI, professional tax and LWF applicability for each employee.

Step 2Compute

Compute gross-to-net

We compute allowances, deductions (PF, ESI, PT, LWF) and TDS under s.392, Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961) using the Form 124 (earlier Form 12BB) declarations and the employee's chosen tax regime.

Step 3Pay

Release salaries

You approve the payroll register, we generate the bank file and payslips, and salaries are disbursed on the agreed date.

Step 4Deposit

Deposit statutory dues

TDS is deposited via Challan 281 by the 7th, PF and ESI by the 15th (para 38, EPF Scheme 1952; s.39 ESI Act 1948), and PT per the state schedule.

Step 5File

File the returns

We file the ECR monthly, Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q) quarterly with the annual statement, and the ESI half-yearly returns.

Step 6Close

Close the year and leavers

Form 130 (earlier Form 16) is issued by 15 June (s.395, Income-tax Act 2025 read with Rule 215, Income-tax Rules 2026; earlier s.203 read with Rule 31, Income-tax Rules 1962), and leavers get a full-and-final settlement with cleared statutory records.

AEO summary

Payroll runs monthly from gross to net: salary computed per the employment contract, TDS deducted under s.392, Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961) and deposited by the 7th via Challan 281, PF at 12% each side deducted and paid by the 15th (s.6, EPF Act 1952), and ESI at 0.75% employee and 3.25% employer (s.39, ESI Act 1948). We run the computation, deposits and returns.

The monthly payroll clock

Payroll compliance is a calendar discipline. TDS lands by the 7th, PF and ESI by the 15th, and the ECR and Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q) follow on their own cycles — so the deposits have to be funded from the payroll register the day salaries are paid.

When the computation and the deposits are run from the same register, nothing gets reconciled at year end.

  • • TDS deposit — by the 7th, Challan 281 (s.392, Income-tax Act 2025 read with the rules; earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961)
  • • PF deposit — by the 15th, para 38 EPF Scheme 1952
  • • ESI deposit — by the 15th, s.39 ESI Act 1948
  • • Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q) — quarterly, due 31 July / 31 October / 31 January / 31 May
  • • Form 130 (earlier Form 16) — by 15 June (s.395, Income-tax Act 2025 read with Rule 215, Income-tax Rules 2026; earlier s.203 read with Rule 31)

What each statutory deduction is for

Each deduction is a separate statutory claim: TDS is the employee's advance income tax collected by the employer under s.392, Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961); PF is retirement savings under s.6 of the EPF Act; ESI funds sickness and maternity benefits under the ESI Act; professional tax is a state levy on employment.

Mixing them up — or treating them as one 'payroll tax' — is how deposit errors start.

  • • TDS — s.392, Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961), deducted on payment of salary
  • • PF — 12% + 12% of basic wages, s.6 EPF Act 1952
  • • ESI — 0.75% employee + 3.25% employer, s.39 ESI Act 1948
  • • PT / LWF — state levies on employment, schedule per state

The cost of missing a deposit

The three statutory legs price delay differently: TDS costs interest and a possible equal penalty, PF costs damages plus interest, and ESI costs damages under s.85B. The common thread is that all three are priced per month of delay, so a single missed deposit compounds quickly.

Late or non-issued Form 130 (earlier Form 16) and Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q) add per-day fees that the company carries even after the deposits are made.

  • • TDS — interest 1% per month until deducted, 1.5% per month from deduction until paid (s.398(3), earlier s.201(1A)); penalty equal to TDS (s.448, earlier s.271C)
  • • PF — damages up to 100% of arrears (s.14B); interest 12% p.a. (s.7Q)
  • • ESI — damages for delayed contribution (s.85B, ESI Act)
  • • Late TDS return — ₹200 per day (s.427, earlier s.234E), capped at the TDS amount

Government fees

Fee breakdown

ItemFeeNotes
Operating supportDiscuss with usMost payroll work is recurring and priced per employee per month.
Connected filingNilThe statutory deposits (TDS, PF, ESI) are payments of dues, not fees.

Timeline

Typical turnaround

Typical timeline usually means a monthly turnaround, assuming documents are complete and any board or shareholder approvals are already in place.

Pricing note

Most finance-operations work is recurring and priced on scope rather than portal fee.

Related services

Keep the company moving

PF ESIC Compliance

File monthly PF and ESIC returns — mandatory from the first employee on payroll.

Virtual CFO

Outsource the CFO function — MIS, board reporting, investor relations, and compliance oversight.

TDS challan deposit

Monthly TDS deposit — due the 7th of the following month.

PF deposit due date

EPF monthly contribution deposit — due the 15th.

ESIC deposit due date

ESIC monthly contribution deposit — due the 15th.

s.427 late fee (earlier s.234E)

₹200 per day late fee for TDS/TCS return filing under s.427, Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.234E, Income-tax Act 1961), capped at the TDS amount.

s.14B PF damages

Damages for delayed PF contribution under s.14B, EPF Act 1952.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What are the statutory deposit deadlines in a payroll month?
TDS deducted on salary under s.392, Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.192, Income-tax Act 1961) must be deposited by the 7th of the following month via Challan 281. PF and ESI contributions must be deposited by the 15th of the following month — para 38 of the EPF Scheme 1952 for PF, and s.39 of the ESI Act 1948 for ESI. Professional tax follows the state schedule. The wage-payment date itself is also a statutory deadline: under s.5(1) of the Payment of Wages Act 1936, wages must be paid before the expiry of the seventh day after the last day of the wage-period (the tenth day where 1,000 or more persons are employed), no wage-period may exceed one month (s.4(2)), and every wage payment must be made on a working day (s.5(4)). So the payroll month runs: salaries released by the 7th, TDS deposited by the 7th, and PF and ESI by the 15th.
What deductions can be made from wages, and is there a cap?
Payment of Wages Act 1936 s.7(1) enumerates the deductions that may be made — fines, absence from duty, damage or loss, house accommodation, amenities, income-tax, court orders, provident fund and insurance, cooperative societies, and the like. Under s.7(3), the total deductions in any wage-period must not exceed 75% of the wages where they are wholly or partly for payments to cooperative societies, and 50% in any other case. This framework remains the PWA 1936 text until the Code on Wages 2019 commences for your state, so confirm the operative reference with your payroll advisor.
Are statutory bonus and gratuity part of the payroll?
Yes — both are payroll liabilities the register has to fund. Under the Payment of Bonus Act 1965, an employee who has worked at least 30 working days in the accounting year (s.8) is entitled to a minimum bonus of 8.33% of the salary or wages earned in that year (s.10) and a maximum of 20% (s.11); the eligibility ceiling is ₹21,000 per month under s.2(13) as raised by the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act 2015. Under the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972, gratuity is payable at 15 days' wages for each completed year of service on a 15/26 basis (s.4(2)) after 5 years of continuous service (s.4(1) — waived on death or disablement), capped at ₹20 lakh under s.4(3) as raised by the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act 2018 with effect from 29 March 2018 (notification S.O. 1420(E)).
What is the penalty for late PF deposit?
Section 14B of the EPF Act 1952 allows damages of up to 100% of the arrears for delayed contribution, applied on a graduated scale by the PF Commissioner. On top, s.7Q charges simple interest at 12% per annum on the unpaid amount from the due date. Late PF is also the most common trigger for a PF inspection.
What does late TDS deposit cost?
Under s.398(3), Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.201(1A), Income-tax Act 1961), interest runs at 1% per month from the date tax was deductible to the date it is deducted, and at 1.5% per month from the date of deduction to the date it is actually paid. A penalty equal to the TDS amount can follow under s.448 (earlier s.271C), plus s.427 (earlier s.234E) fees for late return filing.
What are the current PF and EPS contribution rates?
Section 6 of the EPF Act 1952 read with the First Schedule sets the PF contribution at 12% of basic wages and dearness allowance from both employee and employer. Of the employer's 12%, 8.33% (capped at the ₹15,000 wage ceiling) goes to the EPS under para 11(3) of the EPS Scheme 1952, and the balance to the provident fund.
When is ESIC applicable and at what rates?
ESI applies to establishments with 10 or more employees under s.1(3) read with s.2(12) of the ESI Act 1948, where wages are within the notified ceiling (₹21,000). Contributions under s.39 are 0.75% from the employee and 3.25% from the employer, deposited by the 15th of the following month.
When must Form 130 (earlier Form 16) be issued?
Form 130 (earlier Form 16; TDS certificate on salary) must be issued by 15 June following the financial year, under s.395, Income-tax Act 2025 read with Rule 215, Income-tax Rules 2026 (earlier s.203, Income-tax Act 1961 read with Rule 31, Income-tax Rules 1962). Late or non-issuance attracts a penalty of ₹500 for every day the certificate is not furnished, not exceeding the tax deductible, under s.465(2)(g) and s.465(3)(b), Income-tax Act 2025 (earlier s.272A(2)(g), Income-tax Act 1961), and employees need the certificate to file their ITR.

Canonical reference: https://www.pvtltd.co/services/payroll-processing

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