Anonymous
8

Hi, can you help...

If the supplier of a transformer is sending 12 persons from their company to install the transformer at my site, do they need to obtain a labor license under the Contract Labor (R&A) Act?

If the license is not applicable to the contractor working at the site, does this contractor need to submit a half-yearly return to the authority under the Contract Labor (R&A) Act?

From India, Visnagar
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Yes, the contractor needs to apply for a labor license. Subsequently, he also has to submit a half-yearly return.

*Note: Please verify the Contract Labor Act of the concerned state for the applicability of the Labor license.

From India, Pune
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As far as my experience and knowledge is concerned, a labor license is applicable only to those where 12 or more workmen have been working on any day in the preceding 12 months. As only 12 persons are supplied here, no applicability of a labor license arises.

Seniors, please correct me if my statement is wrong.

From India, Mumbai
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Dear,

There is no requirement to obtain a labor license because as per the rules of the Contract Labour Act (Regulation and Abolition) 1970, it applies to every establishment in which twenty or more workmen are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months as contract labor. It also applies to every contractor who employs or who employed on any day of the preceding twelve months twenty or more workmen. Therefore, if you do not obtain a Labor License, there is no need to send a half-yearly return to the licensing officer.

With Regards

From India, Ranchi
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Some of the states have a limit of 10 workers to trigger the applicability of the Contract Labour Act. So without knowing the state, we can't be sure.

Again, many state rules have a provision for a temporary license (for 15 days) which automatically lapses after that. Then half-yearly returns are not required.

From India, Mumbai
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Dear Anonymous,

Please check with your contractor who is supplying you the manpower for your workload about the employees he has on his board. I am sure he must have more than 12 employees, so in that case, he has to hold a license to provide such contractual employees in respect of the concerned state Act and will submit Half-Yearly and annual returns under the Contract Labour R&A Act.

Regards,
Pushkar Bisht

From India, Delhi
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The CLRA Act is not applicable to the supplier of a transformer if the persons he is sending for installation are his own workers and not his contract workers. It is also not applicable if it is a contract for service included in the purchase order.

Varghese Mathew
9961266966

From India, Thiruvananthapuram
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Varghese,

Please check the definition of contractor and contract worker in the act. If you evaluate the wording, you will see that anyone who is working on your premises because you have a contract with their employers to deliver some service to you (not just to deliver a product) falls under the Contract Labour Act. Therefore, it does not matter if they are the worker's own employees or contracted out. The act covers contract workers from the perspective of the person whose factory the work is being done in, not from the viewpoint of the service provider.

Unless you can prove that the installation is not deemed a service (as the act states: "other than merely providing any goods"), it will fall under the act's definition. This might not have been the intention of the act, but it is what the act currently states. Furthermore, whether a Purchase Order (PO) is issued or a contract is entered into, it does not alter the nature of the work being carried out.

"The CLRA Act is not applicable to the supplier of a transformer if the individuals he is sending for installation are his own workers and not contracted workers. It is also not applicable if it is a service contract included in the purchase order." - Varghese Mathew, 9961266966

From India, Mumbai
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Dear Anonymous,

I endorse the answer by Varghese ji.

I endorse the said answer after considering the below-given points:

"Contractor" as defined in CLRA, in relation to an establishment means a person who undertakes to produce a given result for the establishment, other than a mere supply of goods or articles of manufacture to such establishment, through contract labour or who supplies contract labour for any work of the establishment and includes a sub-contractor.

A workman as defined in CLRA, shall be deemed to be employed as "contract labour" in or in connection with the work of an establishment when he is hired in or in connection with such work by or through a contractor, with or without the knowledge of the principal employer.

On reading both the terms as above, I conclude that the party who supplies and installs the transformer is not a contractor under the CLRA, and the workmen of such party are not contract labour.

Normally, such kind of job is done with the help of fewer than 10 workers, and therefore no question of a license arises. The principal employer also avoids enrolling such party as a contractor in his RC since such jobs do not last for long.

Since the queriest raised this point, we have to debate it.

I have another legal view also in this context, which is as follows:

The term - undertake to produce a given result necessarily involves the contract of service, and the CLRA is applicable only in the case of a contract of service. Whereas, the supply and installation of a transformer is not a contract of service but a contract for service.

A contract for services is strictly a business contract between two firms on a buyer and supplier basis. There is no question of any employment relationship between the parties.

This is my view. It is not in CLRA. It is only an academic discussion.

I expect comments on this by experts. One can differ with me. I just expressed my point of view.

From India, Mumbai
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Thank you, Kargoankar, for your comments. In the definition of 'contractor', mere supply of goods or articles of manufacture is excluded. Supply, installation/commissioning, trial run, etc., are nowadays part of the business contract for the supply of machinery.

Varghese Mathew

From India, Thiruvananthapuram
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