{"id":14847,"date":"2026-09-18T15:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/?p=14847"},"modified":"2026-09-18T10:14:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T04:44:57","slug":"payroll-for-staffing-companies-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Staffing Company Payroll: Multi-Client Processing at Scale"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_78 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Why_Staffing_Payroll_Doesnt_Behave_Like_Regular_Payroll\" >Why Staffing Payroll Doesn&#8217;t Behave Like Regular Payroll<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Whos_Actually_the_Employer_Here\" >Who&#8217;s Actually the Employer Here?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Principal_Employer_Liability_Under_the_OSH_Code\" >Principal Employer Liability Under the OSH Code<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Payroll_Accountability_to_Both_Worker_and_Client\" >Payroll Accountability to Both Worker and Client<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#How_Many_Registrations_Does_One_Staffing_Company_Actually_Need\" >How Many Registrations Does One Staffing Company Actually Need?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Do_You_Need_a_Separate_PF_and_ESI_Code_for_Every_Client\" >Do You Need a Separate PF and ESI Code for Every Client?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Is_Your_Markup_Structure_Doing_Its_Job\" >Is Your Markup Structure Doing Its Job?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Did_Tax_Treatment_for_Staffing_Invoices_Just_Change\" >Did Tax Treatment for Staffing Invoices Just Change?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Old_dispute\" >Old dispute<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#What_changed_on_1_April_2026\" >What changed on 1 April 2026<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Can_Your_Payroll_System_Handle_Ten_Clients_at_Once\" >Can Your Payroll System Handle Ten Clients at Once?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Before_You_Sign_the_Next_Client\" >Before You Sign the Next Client<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#FAQs\" >FAQs<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Does_a_staffing_company_need_a_separate_PF_or_ESI_code_for_every_client\" >Does a staffing company need a separate PF or ESI code for every client?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#How_many_contract_workers_trigger_a_licence_requirement_under_the_OSH_Code\" >How many contract workers trigger a licence requirement under the OSH Code?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Who_is_liable_if_a_staffing_company_fails_to_pay_a_contract_workers_wages\" >Who is liable if a staffing company fails to pay a contract worker&#8217;s wages?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#What_GST_rate_applies_to_staffing_services_in_India\" >What GST rate applies to staffing services in India?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#What_is_a_typical_markup_for_contract_staffing_in_India\" >What is a typical markup for contract staffing in India?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Does_a_staffing_company_need_a_new_contractor_licence_for_every_client_it_signs\" >Does a staffing company need a new contractor licence for every client it signs?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-for-staffing-companies-india\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #dbeafe; padding: 20px; border-radius: 10px; margin: 20px 0;\">\n<p><b>TL;DR<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike the internal payroll department that manages a single payroll for one organization, the payroll processing by staffing agencies involves multiple contracts where the agency will manage only one payroll process involving different rates, cost centres and statutory risks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, when staffing agencies operate as contractors, they require licensing when they provide 50 or more contract workers, and that licensing is now done using a single licence that can be used nationally and lasts for five years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The principal employer, who is the client company, retains liability for unpaid salaries of a contract worker in case the staffing agency fails.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A single PF and ESI establishment code can cover every client a staffing company serves, but each client&#8217;s contribution has to be tagged and traceable separately for audits and inspections.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With effect from 1st April 2026, any tax deducted on staffing invoices is categorized as contract payment under Section 393 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (the successor of Section 194C) with a tax rate of 1 to 2%, which had for many years been subject to a dispute over whether the higher rate of 10% applied.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GST on manning and manpower staffing services attracts 18% GST under SAC 9985 on the total value of the invoice, which includes wage cost, statutory charges, and margin.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contract staffing in India generally has a margin of 15 to 35% over the worker&#8217;s salary, and this margin must first cover the statutory charges before making any profit.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Staffing_Payroll_Doesnt_Behave_Like_Regular_Payroll\"><\/span>Why Staffing Payroll Doesn&#8217;t Behave Like Regular Payroll<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A staffing company isn&#8217;t running payroll for one employer. It&#8217;s running payroll for its own workforce while answering to a different client for every batch of those workers. That single fact is what breaks generic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/payroll\/payroll-software\">payroll software<\/a> built for one company with one set of cost centres.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The size of the problem is no less than monumental. According to the Indian Staffing Federation\u2019s annual report for FY 2025-26, the flexi-workforce covered under its membership comprised<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehawk.in\/news\/science\/indias-flexistaffing-sector-posts-nearly-8-pc-job-growth-in-fy26\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 1.91 million employees, increasing by 8% year on year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and the growth being fuelled largely by global capability centers accounting for 73% of the mandate. Each and every single one of those employees figures in someone\u2019s payroll system, earmarked to a particular client, a particular pay rate and a particular statutory framework irrespective of their work profile remaining constant.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An industrial unit does PF logic calculation once at their own unit level. A staffing company which uses labor for industrial clients located in Pune, retail clients in Bengaluru, and logistics clients in Gurugram requires three different <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/glossary\/professional-tax\">professional tax calculations<\/a>, three different minimum wage calculations, and one payroll process which makes sure that there is no bleed among these three.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whos_Actually_the_Employer_Here\"><\/span>Who&#8217;s Actually the Employer Here?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From a legal perspective, the staffing firm is the employer for purposes of compliance with the statute. However, this doesn&#8217;t mean that the client gets to dodge all liability through outsourcing the documentation process. It is the division of responsibilities that makes things go wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Principal_Employer_Liability_Under_the_OSH_Code\"><\/span>Principal Employer Liability Under the OSH Code<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the OSH Code, if a staffing company (the contractor) fails to pay a worker&#8217;s wages, the client (the principal employer) is directly liable to pay them instead. This isn&#8217;t new. It carried over from the old Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, which the OSH Code has now absorbed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This basically implies that when the client reviews their staffing partners, the client should also review how disciplined the payroll practices of the staffing partner are, as closely as possible to the client&#8217;s. This is because if there is any delay in remitting PF contributions or any delay in the salary cycle, the client is at risk of facing this issue in court. TankhaPay&#8217;s<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-compliance-penalties\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">payroll compliance penalties guide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> breaks down what that exposure actually looks like in rupee terms.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Payroll_Accountability_to_Both_Worker_and_Client\"><\/span>Payroll Accountability to Both Worker and Client<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the staffing company, this creates a second audience for every payroll cycle. The worker needs to be paid correctly and on time. The client needs a clean, auditable record proving that happened, because the client&#8217;s own labour inspection exposure depends on it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Many_Registrations_Does_One_Staffing_Company_Actually_Need\"><\/span>How Many Registrations Does One Staffing Company Actually Need?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fewer than the old law required, though the exact number still depends on headcount and how many contract workers sit at any single client site. The OSH Code simplified this in two specific ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>On the client&#8217;s side:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Code replaced the old requirement for a separate principal-employer registration at every site with one common registration, covering any establishment employing 10 or more workers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>On the staffing company&#8217;s side:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a contractor licence is required once it supplies 50 or more contract workers. That licence is now issued nationally, valid for five years, rather than the old system of applying for a fresh licence at every establishment where workers were deployed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second reform has greater significance than expected. Instead of requiring a dozen different CLRA licenses for a dozen different client sites, a staffing agency can continue under one license and only update that license based on increasing headcount. Registration under Shops and Establishment law and Professional Tax law at the state level will remain as before, however, because such legislation is a state subject not affected by this consolidation. TankhaPay&#8217;s<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/professional-tax\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">state-wise professional tax guide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> covers exactly this layer for employers running staff across multiple states.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_You_Need_a_Separate_PF_and_ESI_Code_for_Every_Client\"><\/span>Do You Need a Separate PF and ESI Code for Every Client?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No. One establishment code can cover the whole staffing company. But every rupee moving through it has to stay traceable to the client that generated it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where staffing payroll actually tends to break down, not at the registration level but at the reporting level underneath it. EPFO and ESIC don&#8217;t require a new establishment code per client contract. What they do require, and what a labour inspector or a client&#8217;s own compliance team will ask for, is a clean breakup showing which employee&#8217;s contribution belongs to which client&#8217;s billing cycle. Even a client that has stopped using a staffing company still needs proof its own workers&#8217; dues were remitted correctly while the relationship lasted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fixing the problem lies in doing batch coding while processing the payroll, and not afterward. When a payroll run involving 40 clients for the month is unable to be narrowed down to &#8220;show me all employees charged to Client X in March,&#8221; then the establishment code is both right and wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Your_Markup_Structure_Doing_Its_Job\"><\/span>Is Your Markup Structure Doing Its Job?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Markup isn&#8217;t the staffing company&#8217;s profit. It&#8217;s the buffer that has to absorb every statutory cost first, and only what&#8217;s left after that is margin. Getting this sequence backwards is the single most common financial mistake in the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bill rate (what the client is invoiced) has to cover:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pay rate: what the worker actually takes home<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employer PF contribution, typically 12 percent<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ESI contribution, where applicable<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gratuity provisioning and, where mandated, gratuity insurance premiums<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Statutory bonus liability<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only what remains after all of that is the staffing company&#8217;s margin. In the Indian market, contract staffing typically runs a 15\u201335% markup over the worker&#8217;s salary. A range wide enough that pricing too close to the low end can let the statutory burden quietly eat into what looked like margin on paper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let us consider the example of a person earning \u20b925,000 per month. The contribution by the employer to the PF account of this individual is \u20b93,000 even when considered just for the PF contribution at 12 percent. There will also be an additional component like the ESI when applicable. The cost of the manpower even before considering the margin is above the salary figure of \u20b925,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Did_Tax_Treatment_for_Staffing_Invoices_Just_Change\"><\/span>Did Tax Treatment for Staffing Invoices Just Change?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, and it&#8217;s one of the more consequential compliance changes for this industry in 2026, even though it has nothing to do with labour law.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Old_dispute\"><\/span>Old dispute<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For years, staffing companies and their clients disagreed with tax authorities over how much TDS applied to a staffing invoice. Payments for contract work attract TDS at 1\u20132 percent under the old Section 194C. Payments for professional or technical services attract 10 percent under Section 194J. Manpower supply sat uncomfortably between the two. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some assessing officers treated a staffing company&#8217;s sourcing and management function as a professional service rather than a labour contract, exposing clients to demands for the higher rate plus interest and penalties if they&#8217;d deducted at the lower one.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_changed_on_1_April_2026\"><\/span>What changed on 1 April 2026<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finance Act 2026 settled the argument.The provision of manpower has now been specifically categorized as &#8220;work&#8221; in Section 393 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (which succeeds Section 194C). The TDS on staffing invoices will be:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>1%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where the payee is an individual or Hindu Undivided Family<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>2%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for any other payee, including companies<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GST stays where it was: 18% under SAC 9985, charged on the full invoice value covering wages, statutory dues, and margin together, not on the margin alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"table-responsive\">\n<table class=\"table-class\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th><b>Item<\/b><\/th>\n<th><b>Position before 1 April 2026<\/b><\/th>\n<th><b>Position from 1 April 2026<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Applicable TDS section<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Disputed: Section 194C or 194J<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Settled: Section 393 (successor to 194C)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TDS rate<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1-2% if treated as a contract, 10% if treated as a professional service<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1% (individual\/HUF payee), 2% (all other payees)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Basis for TDS<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contested by assessing officers case by case<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manpower supply is explicitly defined as &#8220;work&#8221;<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GST rate<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">18%, SAC 9985<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unchanged, 18%, SAC 9985<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contractor licence under OSH Code<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Per-establishment licence, renewed separately at each client site<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Single national licence, five-year validity, amendable for headcount growth<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For a client paying a staffing company \u20b910,00,000 in a month: that&#8217;s \u20b91,80,000 in GST on top, and a straightforward \u20b920,000 TDS deduction at the 2% rate, with no further argument about which section applies.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_Your_Payroll_System_Handle_Ten_Clients_at_Once\"><\/span>Can Your Payroll System Handle Ten Clients at Once?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most payroll software is built to run one company&#8217;s numbers. A staffing company needs software that can run forty companies&#8217; numbers in one sitting without any of them touching.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><strong>Suchita Dutta, Executive Director of the Indian Staffing Federation<\/strong><\/em>, has connected the industry&#8217;s growth directly to EPFO&#8217;s own numbers, noting the sector is a meaningful share of the 18\u201322 lakh net payroll additions EPFO records nationally each month. Processing that volume through one operation only works if the system can:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Batch-run payroll by client<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generate a separate cost report per client without manual reconciliation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep each client&#8217;s statutory filings clean even while ten other clients run through the same cycle<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What we really need are not such flashy things as dashboards, but something more like client-specific cost centers that aggregate into one unified dashboard for executives, a pass-through or escrow system, where money received from one client\u2019s contribution to PF is segregated from that received from other clients, and a paper trail showing exactly what has been charged, deducted, and remitted by client per month.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Before_You_Sign_the_Next_Client\"><\/span>Before You Sign the Next Client<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three checks matter more than anything else:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ensure that the license includes the increase in manpower. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">License is updated as per the OSH Code before the execution phase.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Construct the billing rate from the pay rate upwards. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include the statutory costs upfront before adding the markup, instead of backtracking from the competitor\u2019s pricing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Implement tagging on a client-by-client basis prior to processing the first payroll cycle. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not after the initial audit request comes in.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the wider statutory picture underneath all of this, TankhaPay&#8217;s<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/blog\/payroll-compliance-checklist\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">payroll compliance checklist for 2026<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> covers labour law, PF, ESI and TDS obligations in sequence.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQs\"><\/span>FAQs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_a_staffing_company_need_a_separate_PF_or_ESI_code_for_every_client\"><\/span>Does a staffing company need a separate PF or ESI code for every client?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No. One coding standard can cover all clients serviced by the recruitment firm. What EPFO, ESIC, and the client&#8217;s compliance department will actually verify is that the contribution for each employee can be linked to the particular client and billing cycle, not that a different code is created for each client.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_many_contract_workers_trigger_a_licence_requirement_under_the_OSH_Code\"><\/span>How many contract workers trigger a licence requirement under the OSH Code?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the number of contractors being supplied by the staffing company exceeds 50, the staffing firm will be required to have a license. In case the number of contractors being supplied by the staffing company does not exceed 50, no contractor license is required by the Code.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_is_liable_if_a_staffing_company_fails_to_pay_a_contract_workers_wages\"><\/span>Who is liable if a staffing company fails to pay a contract worker&#8217;s wages?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The client, as the principal employer, is directly liable to pay the worker if the staffing company defaults. This liability carried over from the old Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, into the OSH Code, and it does not disappear just because payroll has been outsourced to a third party.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_GST_rate_applies_to_staffing_services_in_India\"><\/span>What GST rate applies to staffing services in India?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supply of manpower and manning services are liable to service tax @ 18% under SAC code 9985. Service tax is levied on the total invoice amount, which includes salaries, statutory charges, and margin for the manning agency as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_a_typical_markup_for_contract_staffing_in_India\"><\/span>What is a typical markup for contract staffing in India?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Normally, contract staffing has a margin of 15 to 35% on top of the wage bill. The margin has to cover the entire legal obligation, including PF and ESI contributions (wherever applicable), along with the gratuity provision, before the staffing company can make a profit.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_a_staffing_company_need_a_new_contractor_licence_for_every_client_it_signs\"><\/span>Does a staffing company need a new contractor licence for every client it signs?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No, not since the OSH Code took effect. The Code replaced the old system of a separate licence per client establishment with a single national licence valid for five years, which the staffing company can amend as the total headcount covered under it grows.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A staffing company&#8217;s payroll isn&#8217;t a big version of a single-employer payroll. Instead, it has its own unique structure in which there is an employer who does the payroll processing for workers under his supervision, but these workers report to a different client for each individual contract.\u00a0 The OSH Code resolved one specific issue: the contractor licence for the entire country replaced site-specific licences. The tax issue from the 2026 year resolved another specific issue: Section 393 solved the TDS issue at 1% to 2% instead of 10%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neither of the two reforms affects what causes disruptions of staffing payroll on a daily basis. The liabilities of the client in the OSH Code do not get cancelled out just because the processing goes through a third party. The contribution traceability of the client is what will be assessed by the EPFO, ESIC, and even the client\u2019s compliance department.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A markup that hasn&#8217;t absorbed PF, ESI, gratuity and bonus costs before counting as margin isn&#8217;t a margin. It&#8217;s a shortfall waiting to surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get client-level tagging working before the client count grows. Fixing it across ten clients is a far bigger job than building it in at client one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To review your staffing licence status, client tagging structure and markup math against these requirements,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tankhapay.com\/payroll\/payroll-software\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Book a Strategy Call<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with TankhaPay&#8217;s compliance team.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 2px solid #004899; padding: 20px; border-radius: 10px; margin: 20px 0;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TankhaPay, created by Akal Information Systems \u2013 a company with 26 years\u2019 experience in payroll and statutory compliance and CMMI Level 5, ISO 9001, ISO 20000, and ISO 27001 certifications \u2013 integrates a payroll system, payroll outsourcing service, EOR service, NATS apprenticeship management, and global talent mobility solutions on one platform. TankhaPay is used by more than 1,000 companies in India, such as Bank of Baroda and UIDAI.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tmnf_excerpt\">TL;DR Unlike the internal payroll department that manages a single payroll for one organization, th\u2026<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[135],"class_list":["post-14847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-payroll","tag-payroll"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Payroll for Staffing Companies in India (2026 Guide)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Payroll for staffing companies in India isn&#039;t just bigger. 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