Bonus computation under the Payment of Bonus Act turns on separate accounts, distinct existence, and the statutory minimum entitlement.

The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 treats departments, undertakings and branches as part of the same establishment, but separate treatment applies where distinct balance sheets and profit and loss accounts are maintained for the relevant accounting year. Minimum bonus remains protected under Section 10, while Section 34 and its third proviso preserve the statutory floor even where a different bonus formula is used. Section 34-A gives overriding effect to the Act, and rules under Section 32 cannot displace its substantive provisions. On the stated facts, the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Banks had separate accounts and distinct corporate existence, so their employees were not entitled to bonus at the same rate as the Apex Bank's employees and the Banks were treated as separate establishments for bonus computation.

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Issues: Whether the employees of the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Banks were entitled to bonus at the same rate as the employees of the Apex Bank, and whether the Primary Banks had to be treated as part of the same establishment for computation of bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under Section 3 of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 treats departments, undertakings and branches as parts of the same establishment, but the proviso creates a separate-establishment treatment where a separate balance sheet and profit and loss account are maintained for the relevant accounting year. Section 10 of the Act fixes minimum bonus, while Section 34 and its third proviso regulate the extent to which a different bonus formula may operate and preserve the minimum statutory entitlement. Section 34-A gives overriding effect to the Act, and rules framed under Section 32 cannot override the substantive provisions of the Act. The Primary Banks maintained separate accounts and had distinct corporate existence, so the legal basis for equating their employees with those of the Apex Bank was absent. The materials relied upon by the employees related to a period when the Primary Banks were profitable and did not assist them when the present position showed losses and no allocable surplus.

Conclusion: The employees of the Primary Banks were not entitled to bonus at the same rate as the employees of the Apex Bank, and the Primary Banks were entitled to be treated as separate establishments for bonus computation.

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