POSH annual report format — the s. 21 filing to the District Officer

When you need this

• At the close of every calendar year, once an Internal Committee exists
• Even in a year with no complaints at all — a nil report is still a report
• When the employer’s own annual report has to carry the POSH particulars
• When a client or an investor asks for evidence of POSH compliance beyond the policy document
• When a District Officer or an inspection asks what was filed for the preceding year

What this document must contain

• The number of complaints received during the calendar year — The opening figure everything else is read against. A year with none is stated as none, not left blank.
• The number disposed of — Received against disposed is the pair that shows whether the Committee is functioning or merely constituted.
• The number pending for more than ninety days — The Act sets a ninety-day inquiry timeline, so this line exists specifically to surface cases that have run past it. It is the figure a reader looks for first.
• The workshops and awareness programmes carried out — The Act places an organising duty on the employer, and this is the line where it is evidenced. A blank here is a compliance gap recorded in your own document.
• The nature of the action taken by the employer — The Committee recommends; the employer acts. The report has to close that loop, described in terms that do not identify anyone.
• No particulars capable of identifying any complainant, respondent or witness — The Act prohibits publication of identity and of the proceedings. This document leaves the building by design, and in a small team even a role and a date can identify someone.

The law that governs it

• POSH Act, 2013 — s. 21 — The Internal Committee shall prepare an annual report in each calendar year and submit it to the employer and to the District Officer. The particulars it must carry are prescribed in the rules made under the Act.
• POSH Act, 2013 — s. 22 — The employer shall include in its own annual report the number of cases filed and their disposal, and where the employer is not required to prepare such a report, shall intimate those numbers to the District Officer. The duty therefore runs at two levels, not one.
• POSH Act, 2013 — s. 16 — The contents of the complaint, the identity and addresses of the complainant, respondent and witnesses, and the conciliation and inquiry proceedings must not be published or made known. The annual report is written to comply with this section, which is why it deals in numbers rather than narratives.
• POSH Act, 2013 — s. 26 — Failure to comply with the obligations under the Act attracts a fine, and a repeat contravention attracts enhanced consequences, which can extend to action affecting a licence or registration under which the business operates. The reporting duty is one of the obligations this section reaches.

Common mistakes

• Constituting the Committee, publishing the policy, and then never filing anything again
• Skipping the filing in a year with no complaints, on the assumption that nothing happened means nothing is owed
• Naming the complainant or the respondent, or including a detail that identifies them to anyone who works there
• Reporting on the financial year when the Act speaks of the calendar year
• Leaving the awareness-programme line blank because none were held, rather than holding them

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file a POSH annual report if there were no complaints?

Yes. The obligation under s. 21 is annual and does not depend on a complaint having been made. A nil report is filed exactly like any other, and the awareness-programme particulars are due whether or not anyone complained.

Is the report for the calendar year or the financial year?

The calendar year. This is one of the most common errors, because almost every other compliance document an Indian business prepares runs on the financial year.

Who prepares and signs it?

The Internal Committee prepares it, and it is submitted through the Presiding Officer to the employer and to the District Officer. It is the Committee’s report, not management’s, which is part of why it carries weight.

What happens if we have never filed one?

Non-compliance with the Act attracts a fine under s. 26, with enhanced consequences for a repeat contravention. In practice the gap most often surfaces during diligence or an inspection. The remedy is to make sure the Committee is properly constituted, hold the awareness sessions, and file going forward rather than backdating anything.

Related documents

• POSH Policy (Anti-Sexual Harassment)
• POSH Internal Committee Constitution Order
• Employee Handbook
• All templates