India HR Compliance Update — July 2026

Published July 2026 · By Team Management Services · Issue #1 of the monthly TMS compliance series

Summary: June ended with the biggest PF development since the Labour Codes took force: the EPF Scheme 2026, Pension Scheme 2026 and EDLI Scheme 2026 were notified in the Gazette on 29 June 2026, replacing the 1952-era scheme framework under the Code on Social Security. Employers have immediate filing obligations. Meanwhile, standard July deadlines run as usual.

1. Statutory Deadline Calendar — July 2026

Due date	Obligation	Applies to	Notes
7 July	TDS deposit for June (salaries, Sec 192)	All employers
15 July	PF contribution + ECR for June	PF-covered establishments	On the new “wages” base
15 July	ESI contribution for June	ESI-covered establishments	3.25% / 0.75%, ≤₹21,000
15 July	Professional Tax — Maharashtra monthly payment & return (PTRC)	Maharashtra employers	Due dates advanced from month-end to the 15th by the Feb 2026 amendment; slab ₹200/month (₹300 in February) above ₹10,000
Varies	Professional Tax — other PT states (KA, WB, TS, GJ etc.)	State-wise	Due dates differ by state (typically the 10th–21st of the following month) — confirm each deployment state’s calendar
15 July	LWF — Maharashtra June half-year remittance	Maharashtra employers (5+ staff)	Several other states also run June/December LWF cycles
31 July	TDS return Form 24Q — Q1 FY 2026-27	All employers

2. Rate and Threshold Changes

• PF wage ceiling confirmed at ₹15,000/month under the Code on Social Security by gazette notification S.O. 2702(E) dated 29 May 2026. Mandatory contributions stay capped at ₹1,800/month per side; voluntary contributions above the ceiling are permitted.
• Central-sphere VDA revised effective 1 April 2026 by the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) (order dated March 2026, per the usual April/October CPI-linked cycle). If you employ central-sphere scheduled workers, ensure April-onward wage floors reflect the category-wise rates in the CLC(C) order.
• No change to PF (12%), ESI (3.25%/0.75%) or gratuity mechanics (~4.81% of basic accrual) this month.

3. New Notifications and Circulars

(a) EPF Scheme 2026 / Pension Scheme 2026 / EDLI Scheme 2026 — notified 29 June 2026. The new schemes under the Code on Social Security replace the EPF Scheme 1952, EPS 1995 and EDLI 1976. Key employer-side points:

• Form V consolidated return due within fifteen days of the scheme taking effect on 29 June 2026 — i.e., by mid-July — capturing employee Aadhaar, PAN, UAN and wage details. This is the month’s action item; watch EPFO circulars for the prescribed format.
• Advance-withdrawal categories simplified from thirteen to three (essential needs, housing, special circumstances); employees may withdraw up to 100% of eligible balance subject to retaining 25% of contributions — expect employee queries; brief HR teams.
• Voluntary contributions above the ₹15,000 ceiling formalised.

(b) Labour Codes enforcement continues to phase in. The four Codes have been in force since 21 November 2025, with state rules still being notified through 2026. Track your states’ rule notifications — several compliance mechanics (registers, returns, thresholds) finalise at state level.

(c) No other employer-critical central ESIC/state circulars for June–July 2026 were identified at the time of publication.

4. Compliance Risk of the Month — Is Your Staffing Vendor Ready for Form V?

The risk: The EPF Scheme 2026 return (Form V) requires clean Aadhaar-PAN-UAN-wage data for every employee — including every contract worker on your vendors’ payrolls. Staffing vendors with messy employee masters will miss the deadline or file garbage, and defaults by a contractor have a habit of becoming the principal employer’s problem.

Why now: The fifteen-day filing window runs from the scheme’s effective date of 29 June 2026 — this is a July problem, not a someday problem.

The 3-question self-check:

1. Has each staffing vendor confirmed, in writing, that it will file Form V for your deployed workforce on time?
2. Can they show you UAN and Aadhaar-seeding status for 100% of deployed employees today?
3. Are their June contributions computed on the Labour Codes “wages” base (basic + DA ≥ 50% of total pay)?

How TMS clients are covered: TMS deployed workforces sit on TMS’s payroll with fully seeded UAN/Aadhaar masters, and TMS files the new-scheme returns as the employer. Clients moved through the November 2025 Labour Codes transition and this scheme change with zero cost impact — across 8,500+ employees on payroll in our contract staffing engagements.

5. Looking Ahead

• August 2026: first full month of operation under the new EPF/EPS/EDLI schemes — watch EPFO FAQs and process circulars.
• State Labour Code rules continue to be notified; half-yearly LWF cycles land in several states over July–August (Maharashtra’s June half-year remittance is due by 15 July).

Related Guides

Read the in-force Labour Code guides: Code on Social Security (primary this issue), Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code and the OSH Code & contract labour. Move the whole obligation onto TMS with contract staffing or third-party payroll.

Three Schemes Replaced, One Return Due — and Your Vendors Are Quiet?

Get a compliance review this month — TMS audits your statutory position and your contractors’ filings, or takes the whole obligation onto our payroll. Call +91-22-4896-7640