Is filing the POSH Annual Report mandatory even if no sexual harassment complaints were received during the year?

Answer Accepted
Asked by Kavya Sharma on

Hi Everyone,

Our company has around 85 employees and we have a duly constituted Internal Committee (IC) under the POSH Act. Fortunately, we did not receive any sexual harassment complaints during the last calendar year.

One of our consultants says we still need to prepare and submit the POSH Annual Report, while another person says it is required only when complaints are received.

I'm also confused about:

  • Is the annual report mandatory even with zero complaints?
  • Who prepares and signs the report?
  • Where should it be submitted?
  • Is there any prescribed format?
  • What information should be included besides complaint statistics?

Would appreciate guidance from HR professionals or compliance experts who have handled this process.

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  • 3 Answers
#Posh #Posh Annual Report #Internal Committee #Compliance #Workplace Harassment

3 Answers

Yes, the annual report is still mandatory even if your organization received zero complaints during the reporting period.

Under Section 21 of the POSH Act, 2013 read with Rule 14 of the POSH Rules, the Internal Committee is required to prepare an annual report every calendar year. The report should then be submitted to the employer, who forwards it to the appropriate District Officer as applicable. The obligation exists regardless of whether any complaints were received.

The report generally includes:

  • Number of complaints received
  • Number of complaints disposed of
  • Cases pending for more than 90 days
  • Awareness or training programmes conducted
  • Nature of action taken by the employer based on IC recommendations

Even if all these numbers are zero, the report should still be prepared and submitted in the prescribed format. 

ACCEPTED Answered by DCPS Admin Verified Expert •

One thing to note is that the submission process can vary slightly depending on your district.

Some District Officers accept physical submissions, while others may accept email or follow a local procedure. Before filing, we always check the latest instructions issued by our district administration.

Answered by Vikram Singh •

We file it every year although we have never had a POSH complaint.

Our Internal Committee prepares the report, the Presiding Officer signs it, and our HR team submits it to the District Officer as per the local procedure. We also keep a signed copy in our compliance records because auditors sometimes ask for it.

One mistake many companies make is assuming "zero complaints" means "nothing to report." That's not how the compliance requirement works.

Answered by Sneha Patel •

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