Applying for a shop licence is one of the primary requirements for people planning on running a business. While there are rules and compliances that they have to get through, there are also rules that are put in place to protect the people working for them. Additionally, the Government put in regulations to protect the employees of an establishment, keeping them safe and not overworked, which can be quite common in many instances. While the rules are mainly for the unorganized sector, it looks after aspects like wage payments, leaves and holidays, work hours, etc. and are State subject with rules that differ accordingly.
The State Government is responsible for the promotion and development of MSMEs. However, the Government of India supplements the efforts of the State Governments through various initiatives. While the purpose of the Shops Licence is the same across the country, there exact rules around India might vary slightly from state to state.
While the rules are strict, employers and business owners have to make sure that they get through the process, but the Indian Government isn’t being too harsh about the process and giving them the room they need. Businesses are allowed to open shop and begin running for 30 days before they have their Shop Licence. The main reason is that it takes about a month to get through the registration process. Additionally, there are some inspections and checks about the place which can only be done in person, and those can only be verified when they have a running establishment. Additionally, the licence has to be left visible at the establishment, allowing people to see that a venue has registered.
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and their offices assist with the coordination and the paperwork for many companies, other ways are a lot more smoother when it comes to getting through the process. People can choose to apply for their licence online as well if they prefer. They can download the application forms from the website and fill them online. There are provisions also made for uploading the supporting documents, which were reviewed at the backend. It should be mentioned that the entire process cannot be handled online since some reviews and inspections have to be carried out at the establishment. Depending on the establishment and how they handle the review process, they would receive their licences.
These licences have to mandatorily be renewed annually while the owners have to go through a slight paperwork trial again to make sure it was done right. If they do continue functioning without the appropriate licence, they could face fines and other penalties that they would have to go through to make sure they were on the right side of the law. They could even have their establishment shut down.