Payroll & Compliance Specialist

About Costco Wholesale:

Costco Wholesale is a multi-billion-dollar global retailer with warehouse club operations in eleven countries. They provide a wide selection of quality merchandise, plus the convenience of specialty departments and exclusive member services, all designed to make shopping a pleasurable experience for their members.

About Costco Wholesale India:

At Costco Wholesale India, we foster a collaborative space, working to support Costco Wholesale in developing innovative solutions that improve members experiences and make employees jobs easier. Our employees play a key role in driving and delivering innovation to establish IT as a core competitive advantage for Costco Wholesale.

Position Summary:

India Payroll & Compliance specialist will be responsible for managing end-to-end payroll operations and ensuring strict regulatory compliance for Costco GCC in India. This role requires a meticulous approach to data validation, a deep understanding of Indian labor laws, and the ability to collaborate effectively with internal finance teams and external stakeholders.

Job Duties/Essential Functions:

Payroll Execution & Support:

• Input Processing: Execute the end-to-end payroll cycle, including the creation and submission of inputs (variable pay, allowances, bonuses, and salary adjustments) for two monthly payroll runs
• Data Validation: Perform rigorous checks and validation on salary pay register outputs to ensure 100% accuracy before payroll processing
• Disbursement & Settlement: Facilitate timely salary disbursements, coordinate with finance for NPS remittances and PT inputs, and manage pay slip upload confirmations
• Variance Management: Conduct regular payroll variance reporting to identify and resolve discrepancies promptly
• Year-End Operations: Support year-end activities, including investment proof collection, tax computation updates, and Form 16 distribution coordination
• New Joiner Setup: Onboard new hires into payroll, including bank details, tax declarations and statutory enrolments (PF/ESI/UAN)
• Full & Final Settlement: Process full-and-final settlements for exiting employees, including recoveries and gratuity computation
• Payroll Vendor Coordination: Coordinate the outsourced payroll provider relationship, including service levels, accuracy, escalation and periodic review

Compliance Execution:

• Statutory Filing: Execute monthly and yearly statutory filings, including PF reports, LWF payments, ESIC returns, and Minimum Wage filings, working in coordination with designated compliance partners.
• Documentation & Reporting: Maintain the Compliance Calendar, track deadlines for statutory renewals (S&E), and ensure the Employee Notice Board remains current with all mandatory documentation.
• Regulatory Support: Support the execution of employment exchange (X-6) filings and monitor CLRA headcounts for contractors on a monthly basis.
• Audit Readiness: Ensure all statutory registers, attendance documentation, and wage records are organized and maintained for periodic audit requirements.
• Salary TDS Support: Support the computation, deduction and reconciliation of salary TDS. Provide inputs for quarterly TDS returns to the Finance team
• Actuarial Data: Provide gratuity and leave-encashment data to the Finance team to enable actuarial valuation at year end

Data and Controls:

• Payroll Master Data: Maintain payroll master data and reconcile it against the HRIS employee master to ensure a consistent single source of truth
• Payroll Cost Reconciliation: Reconcile payroll cost to the general ledger with the Finance team each payroll cycle

Non-Essential Functions:

• Responsible for continued personal growth in the areas of technology, business knowledge and company policies and platforms.
• Assists in other areas of the department as necessary.

Experience, Skills, Education & Licenses/Certifications:

Required:

• Hands-on Experience: 5+ years of operational experience in HR Operations, with a proven track record in end-to-end payroll processing and statutory compliance within the Indian regulatory framework
• Technical Proficiency: Strong proficiency in Excel (for data validation and reporting) and experience with HRIS/Payroll platforms
• Regulatory Knowledge: Solid understanding of Indian labor laws, specifically PF, ESI, LWF, PT, and CLRA provisions
• Payroll Tax & Provisioning: Working knowledge of salary TDS computation and reconciliation and of gratuity and leave-encashment data requirements for actuarial valuation
• Operational Detail: Ability to manage high-volume, routine tasks with high attention to detail and zero-error tolerance
• Coordination Skills: Ability to effectively communicate and follow up with finance teams, compliance vendors, and internal stakeholders to close out action items

Recommended:

• Experience with full life-cycle implementation projects
• Experience managing an outsourced payroll provider relationship
• Strong understanding of HR and Payroll best practices
• Proficient in Google Workspace applications, including Sheets, Docs, Slides, and Gmail