law: Payment of Wages Act, 1936
  7.
  
  Deductions which may be made from wages
  (1)
  
  Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 47 of the Indian
  
  Railways Act 1890 (9 of 1890) the wages of an employed person shall be paid to
  
  him without deductions of any kind except those authorised by or under this
  
  Act.
  Explanation
  
  I: Every payment made by the employed
  
  person to the employer or his agent shall for the purposes of this Act be
  
  deemed to be a deduction from wages.
  Explanation
  
  II: Any loss of wages resulting from the
  
  imposition, for good and sufficient cause upon a person employed of any of the
  
  following penalties namely:-
  (i ) the withholding of increment or promotion (including the
  
  stoppage of increment at an efficiency bar);
  (ii)
  
  the reduction to a lower post or time scale or to a lower stage in a time
  
  scale; or
  (iii)
  
  suspension;
  shall
  
  not be deemed to be a deduction from wages in any case where the rules framed
  
  by the employer for the imposition of any such penalty are in conformity with
  
  the requirements if any which may be specified in this behalf by the State
  
  Government by notification in the Official Gazette.
  (2)
  
  Deductions from the wages of an employed person shall be made only in
  
  accordance with the provisions of this Act and may be of the following kinds
  
  only namely:
  (a) fines;
  (b) deductions for absence from duty;
  (c) deductions for damage to or loss of goods expressly entrusted to the
  
  employed person for custody or for loss of money for which he is required to
  
  account where such damage or loss is directly attributable to his neglect or
  
  default;
  (d) deductions for house-accommodation supplied by the employer or by
  
  government or any housing board set up under any law for the time being in
  
  force (whether the government or the board is the employer or not) or any other
  
  authority engaged in the business of subsidising house-accommodation which may
  
  be specified in this behalf by the State Government by notification in the
  
  Official Gazette;
  (e) deductions for such amenities services supplied by the employer as
  
  the State Government or any officer specified by it in this behalf may by
  
  general or special order authorise.
  Explanation: The word
  
  "services" in this clause does not include the supply of tools and
  
  raw materials required for the purposes of employment;
  (f) deductions for recovery of advances of whatever nature (including
  
  advances for travelling allowance or conveyance allowance) and the interest due
  
  in respect thereof or for adjustment of over-payments of wages;
  (ff) deductions for recovery of loans made from any fund constituted for
  
  the welfare of labour in accordance with the rules approved by the State
  
  Government and the interest due in respect thereof;
  ( fff ) deductions for recovery of loans granted
  
  for house-building or other purposes approved by the State Government and the
  
  interest due in respect thereof;
  (g) deductions of income-tax payable by the employed person;
  (h) deductions required to be made by order of a court or other
  
  authority competent to make such order;
  ( i ) deductions for subscriptions to and for
  
  repayment of advances from any provident fund to which the Provident Funds Act
  
  1952 (19 of 1952) applies or any recognised provident funds as defined in
  
  section 58A of the Indian Income Tax Act 1922 (11 of 1922) or any provident
  
  fund approved in this behalf by the State Government during the continuance of
  
  such approval;
  (j) deductions for payments to co-operative societies approved by the
  
  State Government or any officer specified by it in this behalf or to a scheme
  
  of insurance maintained by the Indian Post Office and
  (k) deductions made with the written authorisation of the person
  
  employed for payment of any premium on his life insurance policy to the Life
  
  Insurance Corporation Act of India established under the Life Insurance
  
  Corporation 1956 (31 of 1956) or for the purchase of securities of the
  
  Government of India or of any State Government or for being deposited in any
  
  Post Office Saving Bank in furtherance of any savings scheme of any such
  
  government.
  ( kk ) deductions made with the written
  
  authorisation of the employed person for the payment of his contribution to any
  
  fund constituted by the employer or a trade union registered under the Trade
  
  Union act 1926 (16 of 1926) for the welfare of the employed persons or the
  
  members of their families or both and approved by the State Government or any
  
  officer specified by it in this behalf during the continuance of such approval;
  ( kkk ) deductions made with the written
  
  authorisation of the employed person for payment of the fees payable by him for
  
  the membership of any trade union registered under the Trade Union Act 1926 (16
  
  of 1926);
  (l) deductions for payment of insurance premia 
  
  on Fidelity Guarantee Bonds;
  (m) deductions for recovery of losses sustained by a railway
  
  administration on account of acceptance by the employed person of counterfeit
  
  or base coins or mutilated or forged currency notes;
  (n) deductions for recovery of losses sustained by a railway
  
  administration on account of the failure of the employed person to invoice to
  
  bill to collect or to account for the appropriate charges due to that
  
  administration whether in respect of fares freight demurrage  wharfage and carnage or in respect of sale of food in
  
  catering establishments or in respect of sale of commodities in grain shops or
  
  otherwise;
  (o) deductions for recovery of losses sustained by a railway
  
  administration on account of any rebates or refunds incorrectly granted by the
  
  employed person where such loss is directly attributable to his neglect or
  
  default;
  (p) deductions made with the written authorisation of the employed
  
  person for contribution to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund or to such
  
  other Fund as the Central Government may by notification in the Official
  
  Gazette specify;
  (q) deductions for contributions to any insurance scheme framed by the
  
  Central Government for the benefit of its employees.
  (3)
  
  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act the total amount of deductions
  
  which may be made under sub-section (2) in any wage-period from the wages of
  
  any employed person shall not exceed -
  ( i ) in cases where such deductions are wholly
  
  or partly made for payments to co-operative societies under clause (j) of
  
  sub-section (2) seventy-five per cent of such wages and
  (ii) in any other case fifty per cent of such wages:
  Provided
  
   that where the total deductions
  
  authorised under sub-section (2) exceed seventy five per cent or as the case
  
  may be, fifty per cent of the wages the excess may be recovered in such manner
  
  as may be prescribed.
  (4)
  
  Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as precluding the employer
  
  from recovering from the wages of the employed person or otherwise any amount
  
  payable by such person under any law for the time being in force other than the
  
  Indian Railways Act 1890 (9 of 1890).
  Comment:
  
   The list given in this section is
  
  exhaustive and no other deduction from the wages is permissible.  AIR 1956
  
  Madras 79