THE DEPUTY REGIONAL DIRECTOR THE EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION Vs. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE LAKSHMI MILLS COMPANY LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is filed against the Order of the ESI Court (Labour Court), Coimbatore, dated 26.03.2012 made in ESI OP No.6 of 2005.

(2.) The petitioner/respondent herein has filed a petition before the trial Court stating that it is a Textile Mill engaged in the manufacture of yarn and cloth and covered under the ESI Act and that it has been complying with the provisions of the Act. The respondent has also been employing workmen and has been paying the wages. The petitioner/respondent has paid certain amounts as conveyance allowance to the staff members owning vehicles, to defray the special expenditure incurred by them towards travelling. The purpose of granting the conveyance allowance is in the nature of travelling as the object of the payment is to enable the employees to reach his place of work and to defray a part of the cost incurred on the travel from the place of their residence to the place of the work. It is also the averment in the petition, that the said travelling is not wages or remuneration or additional remuneration attracting the contribution, as envisaged under Sec. (2) (22) of the Act as Travelling allowance is excluded from the purview of the wages under the said Act. The other averment made by the petitioner before the trial Court is that the conveyance allowance is paid in cash for the purpose of facilitating the employees to come to the place of work.

(3.) It is the grievance of the petitioner/respondent herein that on 27.07.2004, the respondent made an inspection and issued a letter demanding contribution on travelling allowance paid during the period from 01.04.2002 to 31.03.2003. Thereafter, a show cause notice was issued to the Management/respondent herein calling upon it to show cause as to why a sum of Rs. 31,035.00 should not be levied as contribution for the amount of travelling allowance paid to the tune of Rs. 4,77,461/= to the workmen for the period 01.04.2002 to 31.03.2003. The Management/respondent herein submitted a reply and after affording an opportunity of personal hearing, the appellant herein, without considering the explanation made by the Management, passed an order dated 29.12.2004 under Sec. 45-A of the Act, confirming the levy as proposed in the show cause notice for a sum of Rs. 31,035.00 for the contribution from 01.04.2002 to 31.03.2003 and also directed to effect the payment within 15 days after the receipt of the order.