Action had been taken once very effectively and enthusiastically by the ESIC Officers’ Federation in the year 1997 through a Member of the Standing Committee Mr. Gautam hailing from Mumbai, to streamline the work of follow-up with the defaulters by making it easier for the employers to pay the contribution. All the Regions were asked to give their opinion on it. And, all the Regions supported that proposal.
A recap of that proposal is appropriate.
- Every employer covered under the ESI Act would pay the contribution through a Cheque or Demand Draft in the Branch Office (then, Local Office) and get formal acknowledgment of the same.
- No payment would be received in cash by the Branch Office. The Branch Manager will arrange to deposit all the instruments in the ESI Corporation’s Bank Account the next day by preparing a Broad Sheet for the same.
- By twenty second of every month, he would easily know which employer did not pay the Contribution for the previous month and issue notices to all those Partial Defaulters besides calling them over phone and remind them.
- In the case of Persistent Defaulters, he would issue Show Cause Notices after the six monthly Period of Contribution is over and send the notice as well as acknowledgment to the Regional Office for taking action for prosecution.
- He would, during the course of the month, obtain the Bank Reconciliation Statement and ensure that all the cheques and Demand Drafts presented by him were accounted for and no cheque was dishonoured.
- In the event of dishonour of any cheques, the Branch Manager would take further action of issuing notices in time as per law and send the papers to the Regional Office for further action.
This process was suggested by the ESIC Officers’ Federation after a lot of deliberation with various Regional Units.
Flourishing ESIC 