The POSH Annual Report is a legal annual report containing disclosure mandated by the Indian legal regime to demonstrate the adherence and compliance by an employer of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (also referred to as “POSH Act”). The report is prepared as per the checklist for the compliance of the POSH Act which is also referred to as POSH annual report format India as it serves as the required format of the annual report. The POSH annual report formatcaptures the statistics of complaints, steps taken by the Internal Committee, and preventive steps taken during the reporting period as required by the provision of Section 21 of the POSH Act of the report.
The POSH Annual Report is a legal document and failure to file it has dire consequences such as penalty. The District Officers, labour inspectors, courts and auditors regularly review it to determine whether an organisation has complied with the regulations and its duty under the POSH Act.
What is a POSH Annual Report and why do we need it?
POSH Annual Report acts as the legal compliance report that an employer makes in accordance with Section 21 of the Sexual harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention and Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The
This is because there is a necessity to ensure that the complaints of sexual harassment are written down, dealt with in a lawful manner and under external scrutiny as opposed to being done in an informal manner or being suppressed at the organisational level.
Statutory purpose of the POSH Annual Report
The POSH Annual Report is filed to comply with the requirement of the Sexual Harassment Act of annual reportingwhich acts as an evidence and serves as a means to establish the compliance of the requirements in the Act and the POSH Rules, 2013. Practically, it functions as the primiary documents which authorities utilise to gauge the level to which an organisation has been fulfilling its duties under the law.
The following are the statutory purposes of the report:
- Admission of regulatory compliance by filing of the POSH report to the District Officer.
- Produces a trail of auditable compliance of complaints and investigations as well as the results which have been documented by the organisation.
- Enables maintaining record of preventive measures, such as awareness programmes and training programmes.
- Functions as a reference document pertaining to enforcement whereabouts cases pertaining to the labour is being inspected, audited, and regulated.
Obligations to file whether complaints are made or not
The failure to file or incomplete filing of the POSH compliance annual report is always regarded as a substantive violation and not a procedural failure by the courts and authorities.
The obligation to comply with the requirements of the POSH annual report filing applies regardless of the presence of complaints and is mechanism which has been implemented by the authorities to ensure that the organisation is complying with the provisions of the POSH Act by ensuring that it has a relevant mechanism to receive and investigate any complaints.
Who is to prepare and submit the POSH Annual Report?
According to the POSH Act, the Internal Committee and employer have a statutory responsibility to prepare the POSH Annual Report. It is the role of the Internal Committee to design the report and the employer is the legal person to ensure that the report is accurate and filed within the prescibed period under the law.
Internal Committee Role
Under Section 4 of the POSH Act, the Organisation which meet the applicability under the provision is required to constitute the Internal Committee (IC). The Internal Committee under Section 21 is required to prepare the annual report.
The Internal Committee has the following responsibilities:
Preparation of data on complaints in the corresponding reporting year which must include details pertainining to the amount of received complaints, disposed complaints and pending complaints.
- Determining complaints outstanding outside the statutory period of enquiry.
- Communication of information about awareness programs and training undertaken.
Submission and compliance by the employers
The employer has a duty under the POSH Act for the filing of the POSH annual report within the prescribed period. This involves submission of the report which is prepared by the Internal Committee in the required format as prescribed by the relevant authority.
The obligation on the part of the employer with respect to the submission of the POSH annual report are as follows:
- Assuring that the POSH compliance annual report is submitted in time.
- Ensuring the validity and the fullness of disclosures.
The liability under the POSH act for the filing of the POSH annual report shall only be applicable on the employer and the employer cannot set off its liability to any of the committees which is established in the organisation which include but is not limited to Internal Committee, HR, legal, or compliance departments .
Which are the legal provisions under the POSH Annual Report requirement?
- The requirement to file the POSH annual report stem from the various provisions of the POSH Act. There provisions are as follows: Section 21 of POSH Act.
- Rule 14 of the POSH Rules, 2013.
- Section 26 of the POSH Act.
- Section 16 of the POSH Act.
On what date should the POSH Annual Report be submitted annually?
POSH Annual Report should be submitted on an annual basis and the mandatory timeline for the filing of the annual report is either on or before 31 January of the next year.
Statutory reporting period according to the POSH framework
POSH Annual Report is prepared to cover a specified period of reporting to guarantee consistency and compliance control. By settled practice the period of reporting includes the period between 1 January and 31 December of the concerned calendar year.
All complaint information, investigations results and preventive actions revealed in the report should be directly pertinent to this time.
Lack of provisions of extension or condonation
There is no extension, grace period, or condonation of delay for the filing of the annual report provided under the POSH Act and the POSH Rules, 2013.
Important compliance implication involves:
- Late filing is deemed to be a violation of the POSH annual report filing requirements.
- Lack of complaints is not a reason to have delayed submission.
Delay on the part of administration or internal holds are not considered as valid defences.
Who should the POSH Annual Report be submitted to?
The annual report of POSH in the format prescribed under the sample should be submitted to the District Officer assigned under Section 5 of the POSH act.
Statutory submission
- It should be submitted to the District Officer who has the jurisdiction of that territory.
- The method of submission can be different (physical, email or portal-based) based on the jurisdiction and the procedure followed by the District Officer to whom such report is being filed.
Internal circulation
Prior to and subsequent to the statutory filing of the POSH annual report, the employers may undertake the following acitivites: :
- Present the report in front of top management or board.
- Incorporate it in internal reviews of compliance.
- Keep it to for the audit or any inspections.
What information must be included in the POSH Annual Report?
The Sample Format of POSH Annual Report is based on the rules prescribed under the POSH Act. The Rule 14 of the POSH rules prescribes minimum disclosures that must be included without dilution.
Complaint statistics
The POSH annual report must disclose the following information:
- Total number of complaints received during the year
- Number of complaints disposed of during the year
- Number of complaints pending for more than 90 days
Inquiry outcomes
The POSH Annual Report must also include details of the following :
- Complaints resolved after inquiry
- Complaints dismissed or closed
- Complaints withdrawn or settled
Preventive measures and training
A compliant POSH Annual Report must include:
- Awareness programmes conducted
- Employee training sessions
- IC orientation or refresher programmes
Internal Committee details
It is mandatory to disclosure the following details pertaining to the Internal Committee:
- Confirmation of IC constitution
- Changes in Presiding Officer or members
- Appointment or replacement of external member
Confidentiality compliance
The POSH annual report must adhere to the confidentiality provisions of the POSH act and must not disclose:
- Names or identities of parties
- Case-specific details
- Inquiry findings beyond numerical data
In the event the employer violated the provision of the act by breaching of confidentiality, the employee shall be liable to be penalised under Section 16.
How should a sample POSH Annual Report be formatted for statutory compliance?
A sample format of POSH Annual Report follows a standardised structure prescribed under Rule 14. The contents pertaining to the sample format of POSH annual report has been reproduced hereinafter.
Core structural elements
The format must include the following information:
- Employer and establishment particulars
- Reporting year
- Tabulated complaint data
- Training and awareness activities
- Declaration by the IC
Scope for modification
Employer may have the power to modify the POSH annual report by including the following:
- Add internal reference numbers
- Attach annexures for internal records
Provided that the employer while modifying the annual report must not modify the following aspects of the POSH annual report:
- Omit mandatory disclosures
- Alter the substance of statutory fields
- Combine multiple years in one report
Any deviation or mitigation from disclosure of key provisions of the annual report may render the report non-compliant.
Multi-location establishments
For organisations operating across multiple locations, the requirement to assess the regulatory regime in the jurisdictional area is crucial as:
- Some District Officers permit consolidated filing
- Others require location-wise reports
What should be the preparation of the POSH Annual Report when there were no complaints received?
Even in a situation where no sexual harassment complaint was made within the year, a POSH Annual Report has to be prepared and filed before the concerned authority. Statutory reporting requirement under the POSH Act is not diluted and suspended by the fact that complaints are not received by the internal committee of the employer.
The annual report still serves as a declaration of formal compliance by the employer and must show that the Internal Committee was still operational and performing its activities of preventative duties.
Compulsory disclosures in nil complaint cases
In cases where complaints are not received the POSH annual report should record such a position in a clear and unambiguous manner without violating the format that is required to be followed.
The report must:
- Clearly indicate that no complaints were made in the course of the period covered.
- Ensure that the Internal Committee was duly formed and operating during the year.
- Report training programmes and activities carried out by the employer.
What are the general pitfalls that organisations must not make when they prepare the POSH Annual Report?
The POSH Annual Report often attract penalty due to the organisation undermining the mandatory nature of the filing of the POSH annual report. The majority of the enforcement procedure for non-compliance does not occur due to failure of filing of the POSH Annual Report, but because of the filing of incorrect, incomplete, or even indifferent annual reporting.This is largely attributable to the management considering the POSH annual report as an internal HR document rather than a statutory disclosure.
Consistent compliance violations by the authorities
Scrutiny and practice of regulatory inspection indicates that the most frequently cited mistakes during annual report review of the POSH compliance are:
- Distributing nil complaints without official confirmation of the Internal Committee or even evidence that the IC was still operating.
- Inconsistencies in the numbers reported in the IC minutes and the annual report.
- Non-disclosure of complaints that are awaiting over a period of ninety days and which is a compulsory statutory disclosure.
- Lack of information about awareness programmes, employee training or IC orientation sessions.
- Failure to submit or file an incomplete report in prescribed format in time.
Lapses related to structure and governance
The other mistake that is witneseed while preparing the Internal Committee annual report POSH is considering the document as a clerical or an administrative report rather than a legal compliance report. This often results in:
- Delegation not subjected to the law.
- Poor checking of statutory disclosures.
- Inability to match the report with Section 21 and Rule 14 requirements.
The authorities have established the POSH Annual Report to indicate that the document is a statutory requirement and should be used to show good governance, accountability, and compliance. The errors in a POSH annual report are not excusable, and it could be subjected to penalties under Section 26 of the POSH Act.
What happens to the legal implications of failing to provide the POSH Annual Report?
Failure to file or wrongly file the of POSH Annual Report is punished in accordance with Section 26 of the POSH Act.
Statutory penalties
Authorities may impose:
- Monetary penalty up to INR 50,000
- Increased punishment on repeat offences.
Wider legal impact
Non-compliance may also:
- Trigger inspections by the labour authorities.
- Impact ESG and governance ratings.
What is the interaction of the POSH Annual Report with the other labour law compliances?
The POSH Annual Report is frequently analysed with the help of other disclosures of labour laws.
Inspectors may cross-check:
- POSH records on labour inspection.
- Employee strong constitution of IC.
- HR disclosure training.
Frequently Asked Questions POSH Annual Report
Does a POSH Annual Report exist in case of no complaints?
Yes, POSH Annual Report has to be prepared and submitted even in cases where no sexual harassment claims were made in the reporting year. The annual reporting is obligatory in section 21 of the POSH Act regardless of the level of complaints. Where this happens, it should be well documented in the report that there were no complaints that were received, that the Internal Committee was duly constituted, and the preventive and awareness actions taken throughout the year.
Does the POSH Annual Report requirement have an exception for the establishments with less than 10 employees?
Yes, the duty to adhere to the filing of the annual report under the POSH Act is not applicable on the establishments that have less than 10 employees.
Is the POSH Annual Report electronic filing possible?
Posh annual report filing provisions do not provide a standardized method of filing in India. The granting of permission of electronic filing is based on administrative procedure implemented bythe concerned District Officer under its jurisdiction at the district level.
What is the way forward on confidentiality in POSH Annual Report?
Section 16 of the POSH Act has confidentiality requirements that apply to the POSH compliance annual report in entirety. The report should include a report of numerical and aggregate data as pertains to complaints and inquiries. However, such a annual report must not disclose the personal names, titles, or identifying information or factual accounts of cases
Is there board consent prior to the submission of the POSH Annual Report?
There is no statutory provision that requests approval of the board to file the POSH Annual Report. Nevertheless, as an aspect of the Companies Act, the Company is required authorise the filing of the report by passing of resolution subject to the internal regulation and compliance control.
Is it possible to submit one POSH Annual Report to many offices or places?
The issue of filing the consolidated report or not is dependent on the practice of jurisdiction. District Officers in some instances allow one consolidated report on POSH to the District Officer representing a number of offices within the same jurisdiction. In the case where offices are under various districts, individual reports are usually needed. Employers can request the clarity in advance so that they can prevent jurisdictional non-compliance.
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