1. Employees Compensation Act has been amended by Act No.11/2017 and the following amendments have been made. The Government of India, Ministry of Labour and Employment by a notification dated: 12.5.2017 published in Gazette of India has appointed 12.5.2017 as the date on which the Amendment would come in to force. The copies of the Gazette of India dated: 12.4.2017 and also dated; 12.5.2017 are enclosed.

2. The Amendments are as under;

2.1 A new section 17A has been inserted and the new section reads as under;

17A Duty of Employer to inform employee of his rights.

Every employer shall immediately at the time of employment of an employee, inform the employee of his rights to compensation under this Act, in writing as well as through electronic means, in English or Hindi or in the official language of the area of employment, as may be understood by the employee.

2.2 The Amended Section 18A reads as under;

18A Penalties.

(1) Whoever

(a) fails to maintain a notice-book which he is required to maintain under sub-section (3) of section 10, or

(b) fails to send to the Commissioner a statement which he is required to send under sub-section (1) of section 10A, or

(c) fails to send a report which he is required to send under section 10B, or

(d) fails to make a return which he is required to make under section 16, or

(e) fails to inform the employee of its rights to compensation as required under section 17A.
shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than Rs.50,000/- but it may extend to one lakh rupees.

(2) No prosecution under this section shall be instituted except by or with the previous sanction of a Commissioner, and no Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this section, unless complaint thereof is made within six months of the date on which the alleged commission of the offence came to the knowledge of the Commissioner.

2.3 Amendment to Section 30

The amended Section 30 reads as under; Appeals.-

(1) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from the following orders of a Commissioner, namely:—

(a) an order awarding as compensation a lump sum whether by way of redemption of a half- monthly payment or otherwise or disallowing a claim in full or in part for a lump sum;

(aa) 1 an order awarding interest or penalty under section 4A;]

(b) an order refusing to allow redemption of a half- monthly payment;
(c) an order providing for the distribution of compensation among the dependants of a deceased workman, or disallowing any claim of a person alleging himself to be such dependant;
(d) an order allowing or disallowing any claim for the amount of an indemnity under the provisions of sub- section (2) of section 12; or
(e) an order refusing to register a memorandum of agreement or registering the same or providing for the registration of the same subject to conditions:

Provided that no appeal shall lie against any order unless a substantial question of law is involved in the appeal and, in the case of an order other than an order such as is referred to in clause (b), unless the amount in dispute in the appeal is not less than ten thousand rupees or such higher amount as the Central Government may by notification in the official Gazette specify (Amended Privision).

Provided, further, that no appeal shall lie in any case in which the parties have agreed to abide by the decision of the Commissioner, or in which the order of the Commissioner gives effect to an agreement come to by the parties:

Provided further that no appeal by an employer under clause (a) shall lie unless the memorandum of appeal is accompanied by a certificate by the Commissioner to the effect that the appellant has deposited with him the amount payable under the order appealed against.

(2) The period of limitation for an appeal under this section shall be sixty days.

(3) The provisions of section 5 of the Indian Limitation Act, 1908 (9 of 1908), shall be applicable to appeals under this section.

2.4 Section 30A reads as under;

30A Withholding of certain payments pending decision of appeal.
Where an employer makes an appeal under clause(a) of sub-section (1) of section 30, the Commissioner may, and if so directed by the High Court shall, pending the decision of the appeal, withhold payment of any sum in deposit with him.
By amendment the above section has been omitted.