Govt issues 18 lakh Labour Identification Numbers

The government has issued 18 lakh Labour Identification Numbers that are provided to businesses enabling them to submit returns and get various registrations required under labour laws at a single online window.
"LIN provided by Shram Suvidha Portal has been issued to about 18 Lakh units covered under various labour laws. The LIN number so allotted was communicated by using email addresses and mobile numbers of the unit representatives available in our database," said the Labour Ministry.
The portal also makes available inspection reports prepared by the enforcement agency inspectors online, it added.
The procedures have been simplified; returns and registration forms have been unified to provide a business environment that encourages compliance by reducing transaction costs and promoting ease of business, the ministry said.

A unit registered with different labour enforcement agencies is identified uniquely and allotted a single unique LIN. It would gradually subsume multiple registration numbers presently being issued separately by Labour Enforcement Agencies -- ESIC registration Number, EPFO number, Registration or license number issued under Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970, it added.
This indeed would meet an objective of ease of business itself as maintenance of multiple registration numbers by businessmen itself is a cumbersome task.

Earlier separate monthly returns were required to be filed by employers to ESIC and EPFO, it said.
"The monthly Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) for Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has now been unified and can be filed at a single place on Shram Suvidha Portal," it added.

The ministry said it is encouraging businesses/units to verify their LINs on priority and avail single Online Return filing facility available the portal.
It is also interacting with employer associations to encourage participate in the new, easier and digital platform for labour law compliance, it added.
Shram Suvidha Portal was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 16, 2014. The portal has been created with the mission to become one-stop-shop for labour law compliance.