What is the meaning of shop act?


Shop Act License is a type of legal permission which legally allows businesses or establishments to do business in a particular place. The registration process for a shop act licence is handled and coordinated through the Shop and Establishment Act in India, which although, has the same rules and result, varies from one Indian State to the other. Individuals, business owners and entrepreneurs with a physical shop or an office used to conduct business have to have their licences in place. These licences are proof of a particular business done at that place. However, as per the Act, all shops and commercial establishments operating within each state are covered by the respective Shop & Establishments Act.

Unlike most of the rules put in place to make sure the company has the proper registrations and other paperwork in place, the Shop act or the Shop act licence was put together to protect employees from being mistreated or overworked. Here are some of the main priorities of the Act:

  • Provide statutory obligation and rights to employees and employers in the unorganized sector of employment, i.e., shops and establishments.
  • Regulate the conditions of work and employment in shops, commercial establishments, residential hotels, restaurants, eating houses, theatres and other places of public entertainment.

Furthermore, the application process when it comes to the Shop Act is quite simple, and there are various ways to handle it including online or through the office post submitting all the application forms

  • Aadhar card
  • PAN Card
  • Address proof like electricity bill or NOC from an owner
  • Application letter in the prescribed format to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
  • Authority Letter for Business
  • Form-A which is an application for Registration within 30 days of starting any work to the inspector of the area
  • Government Prescribed Fees for a partnership Firm
  • Partnership Deed
  • Pan Card of the partnership Firm
  • Partners ID Proof and address proof

While the shop licence is created and provided by the Shop and Establishment Act, it is further regulated by the Department of Labor, regulating premises wherein any trade, business or professional work are carried out.

The Act not only regulates the working of commercial establishments but also societies, charitable trusts, printing establishments, educational institutions run for gain and premises in which banking, insurance, stock or share brokerage is carried on. It regulates working hours, rest intervals for employees, opening and closing hours, closed days, national and religious holidays, overtime work, rules for employment of children, annual leave, maternity leave, sickness and casual leave, etc.

The application for the process is quite simple, and multiple offices would be open to assisting establishments to get through it without too much trouble. Additionally, some websites provide the application forms for downloads which makes the process easier for a lot of people. Even for those not sure how they should be moving ahead through the process, the website provides inputs that they can pick up, telling them about the various processes they can get through and the mandatory paperwork they should get in place to get through it without too much trouble.