[ 971 ]
La Gazette de L' État de Poudouchéry
The Gazette of Puducherry
PART - II
EXTRAORDINAIRE
EXTRAORDINARY
Publiée par
Published by
Autorité
Authority
Registered with the Registrar
of Newspapers for India under
No. 10410
2025 } | 19 {
No. 66 Poudouchéry Mardi
19
Août
2025
No.
Puducherry
Tuesday
19th
August
2025
(28 Sravana 1947)
GOVERNMENT OF PUDUCHERRY
LABOUR DEPARTMENT
(G.O. Ms. No. 9, Puducherry, dated 14th August 2025)
NOTIFICATION
In supersession of the G.O. Ms. No. 5/Lab./AIL/G/2020, dated
07-08-2020 of the Labour Department, Government of Puducherry, save
as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession,
the Lieutenant-Governor, Puducherry, is pleased to notify the ‘Third
Party Certification Scheme, 2025, under the Puducherry Shops and
Establishments Act, 1964’.
1. Short title, extent and commencement.— (1) The Scheme shall
be called, ‘The Third Party Certification Scheme, 2025, under the
Puducherry Shops and Establishments Act, 1964’.
972
LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT
[PART–II
(2) The Scheme shall extend to all Shops and Establishments
covered under the Puducherry Shops and Establishments Act,1964.
(3) The Scheme shall come into force with effect from the date
of its notification in the Official Gazette.
2. Object.— The Scheme aims to further improve the ease of doing
business through simplifying the business regulations, reducing
compliance burden, and facilitating the various shops and establishments
to observe and implement the provisions of various Labour Laws and
Rules framed thereunder, viz., Puducherry Shops and Establishments Act,
1964, Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Payment of Wages Act, 1936, Contract
Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, Inter-State Migrant
Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act,
1979, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972,
Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, Motor
Transport Workers Act, 1961, Puducherry Industrial Establishments
(National Festival Holidays) Act, 1964, Industrial Employment (Standing
Order) Act, 1946, the Working Journalists and other Newspaper
Employees (Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act,
1955 and the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Services) Act,
1976.
3. Scope.— All the employers who are registered under the
Puducherry Shops and Establishments Act, 1964 are eligible to avail the
Third-Party Certification Scheme.
4. Definition.— In this Scheme, unless the context otherwise
requires,-
(i) “Act” means, ‘Puducherry Shops and Establishments Act,
1964 (Act No. 9 of 1964)’;
(ii) “Government” means, the Secretary to the Government
(Labour), Puducherry;
(iii) “Returns” means, Consolidated Annual Returns notified
vide G.O. Ms. No. 6/AIL/Lab./G/2021, dated 29-11-2021 of the Labour
Department, Government of Puducherry;
(iv) “Rules” means, the Puducherry Shops and Establishments
Rules,1964;
973
PART–II]
LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT
(v) “Third-Party Certification” means, certification given by
Third-Party Inspector/Auditor on the implementation of the various
labour laws in accordance with Form-I appended herewith;
(vi) “Third-Party Inspector/Auditor” means, a qualified
practicing Company Secretary who is a Member of the Institute of
Company Secretaries of India constituted under section 3 of the
Company Secretaries Act, 1980 and approved by the Central Government,
and who has not been an employee or on the regular pay roll of the
establishment or has not been a consultant of the shop or establishment
concerned for the last three years.
5. Third-Party Certification.— (1) The Compliance Inspection /
Audit shall be carried out as per the standards laid down under the Act /
Rules and other applicable Labour laws.
(2) The Third-Party Inspector / Auditor (hereinafter referred to
as a Compliance Auditor), conducting the Audit shall maintain a log book
of all audits undertaken by him indicating the name and address of the
audited establishment, name of the person who has carried out the audit,
details of the contact person(s), date of the audit and date of submission
of the audit report to the notified Head of the Establishment.
(3) A Compliance Auditor and the person authorized to carry
out audit, shall not conduct Compliance Audit of any establishment
where such Auditor or person is employed, or is an Occupier, Partner,
Director, or Manager of that establishment, or of any other unit owned,
operated, managed, or conducted by immediate family members, relatives
or extended family members or wherein, that Compliance Auditor or such
person has any direct or indirect interest whatsoever. A Compliance
Auditor or such person shall not carry out the Compliance Audit of those
establishments in which that Auditor or such person has any
participation in business within the last three years.
(4) Compliance Auditor and the person authorized to carry out
compliance audit shall not disclose, even after he ceases to be an
Auditor, any commercial secrets or working processes or other
confidential information which may come to his knowledge in the course
of duties as an Auditor. Any failure in this regard, may render such an
Auditor or person liable for criminal or civil proceedings, as the case
maybe, in accordance with the extant law.
974
LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT
[PART–II
(5) If, the Compliance Auditor has carried out the audit in
violation of the provisions of the Act or rules or has acted in a manner
inconsistent with the intent or the purpose(s) of the Act or rules made
thereunder or has omitted or failed to act as required under the Act and
rules made thereunder; or for any other similar reason by which he has
failed in duties as a Compliance Auditor, he shall be liable to be debarred
from conducting such Compliance Audits by the Commissioner of
Labour, Government of Puducherry.
(6) The Compliance Auditor shall conduct the audit during the
first week of April, succeeding every financial year, and shall immediately
forward his Report, to the Head of the Shop or Establishment, on his
letterhead in writing with his recommendations regarding the compliance
under various Labour Laws.
(7) The Head of the Establishment shall, within one week of the
receipt of the Compliance Audit Report, take action on the
recommendation of the Auditor as pointed out in the Audit Report and
also submit the Action Taken Report/Compliance Report along with proof
of compliance to the Third-Party Inspector / Auditor in pursuance to
the recommendations made in the Audit Report. The Third-Party Inspector
/Auditor shall thereupon issue a Certificate in Form-I and the said
Certificate shall be attached as a document while uploading the Return
in the online portal (https://labour.py.gov.in/) developed for this
purpose, to be filed on or before 30th April of the current year, for the
previous financial year ending 31st March,
(8) The compliance of the observation / discrepancies pointed
out in the Audit Report shall be monitored at the level of Labour
Commissioner, Government of Puducherry.
(9) Where discrepancies have been reported in the Third-Party
Certification, the Labour Commissioner can direct Inspector concerned
to proceed in accordance with law for securing compliance of the
provisions. The Inspector concerned shall issue a Compliance Notice
for securing compliance and where such compliance has been made, no
legal action shall be taken against the Head of the shop or establishment /
Manager for any discrepancies / observations / violations of Acts / Rules
pointed out by the Auditor in his Audit Report.
975
PART–II]
LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT
(10) The Labour Commissioner may issue directions for
inspection of any registered establishment in case of violation of a specific
and expressly stated provision of Act or rules made thereunder, with
prior approval of the Secretary to Government (Labour), Puducherry.
6. Interpretation and Clarification.— If, any doubt arises with
regard to interpretation or implementation of any of the provision(s) of
this Scheme, or if any specific point requires clarification, the matter
shall be referred to the Secretary to Government (Labour), Puducherry
for decision and such decision shall be the final and binding.
(By order of the Lieutenant-Governor)
R. SMITHA, I.A.S.,
Secretary to Government (Labour).
————
ANNEXURE
FORM–I
Third-Party Certification
I, .............................. a qualified practising Company Secretary and
Member of institute of Company Secretaries of India constituted under
section 3 of the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 and approved by the
Central Government and in the capacity of Third-Party Inspector /
Auditor in accordance with Third-Party Certification Scheme, 2025 under
the Puducherry Shops and Establishments Act, 1964 hereby certify as
follows:
I have personally verified all the registers, records and notices
under the Act and Rules and also under all applicable labour laws and
found compliance of the provisions and accordingly the return has been
prepared.
(OR)
976
LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT
[PART–II
I have personally verified all the registers, records and notices
under the Act and Rules and also under all applicable Labour Laws and
found compliance of the provisions except the following and accordingly
the return has been prepared.
1 ....................................................
2 ....................................................
Date
:
Name, Designation and Signature of
Place
:
Third-Party Inspector / Auditor
————
online publication at “https://styandptg.py.gov.in”
Published by the Director, Government Press, Puducherry.