6
Section 26 (3) (i)
17. Advances. – (1) An advance of wages not already earned shall not, without the
previous permission of an Inspector, exceed an amount equivalent to the wages earned
by the employed person during the preceding two calendar months, or if he has not been
employed for that period, twice the wages he is likely to earn during the subsequent
calendar month.
(2) Any advance may be recovered in instalments by deduction from wages,
spread over not more than twelve months:
Provided that this sub-rule shall not apply to the case of an advance made before
the commencement of the Act and particulars relating to which are communicated before
the 31
st
March, 1938, to the Inspector having jurisdiction over the factory or industrial
establishment, as the case may be:
Provided further that this sub-rule shall not apply to the case of any advance
made, in which the employer, either at the instance or with the consent of the employed
person and with the approval of the the Chief Inspector of Factories in respect of
factories governed by the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act LXIII of 1948), the Chief
Inspector of Plantations in respect of Plantations governed by the Plantations Labour Act,
1951 (Central Act LXIX of 1951),
1
[the Chief Inspector of Motor Transport Undertakings
in respect of motor transport undertakings governed by the Motor Transport Workers
Act, 1961 (Central Act 27 of 1961)] and the Deputy Commissioners of Labour in respect
of other industrial establishments to which the provisions of the Act have been extended,
postpones its recovery for a specified period on exceptional grounds (such as when full
work could not be provided for the workers or employees for causes beyond the control
of the employer) which in the opinion of the Chief Inspector of Factories, or the Chief
Inspector of Plantations,
1
[or the Chief Inspector of Motor Transport Undertakings in
respect of motor transport undertakings governed by the Motor Transport Workers Act,
1961 (Central Act 27 of 1961)] or the Deputy Commissioners of Labour, as the case may
be, merit such postponement.
(3) No instalment by which an advance is repaid shall exceed one third, or where
the wages for any wage-period are not more than twenty rupees, one-fourth of the
wages for any wage-period in respect of which the deduction is made.
(4) The amounts of all advances, whether made before the commencement of
this Act or sanctioned after such commencement, and all repayments of such advances,
shall be entered in a register in Form III.
2
[Provided that no such Register of Advances and Repayments need be
maintained, if the particulars required in Form-III are contained in any other records
maintained by the paymaster under any other labour law.]
1
Ins. by G.O. Ms. No. 319, Labour and Employment, dated the 17
th
April, 1976
2
Proviso to Rule 17 sub-rule (4), added by G.O.(D) No. 1, Labour and Employment (H-1), dated
the 2
nd
January, 2008