In Maharashtra, the local term for a Shop Act license is
"Gumasta."
This law governs the regulation of work and employment
conditions, as well as other terms of service, for employees working in
commercial establishments such as shops, residential hotels, restaurants,
eating establishments, theatres, public amusement or entertainment places, and
other commercial establishments. On December 19, 2017, the Maharashtra Shops
and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act,
2017 came into effect.
Applicability & Registration
The law applies to all non-factory commercial establishments
in the state that have a workforce of 10 or more employees.
As per the Shop Act, business owners operating a shop or a
commercial establishment must obtain a Shop and Establishment License within 30
days of starting their business.
Establishments
with more than 10 employees
According to the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act,
firms that employ over 10 workers must acquire a license within 60 days of
beginning operations by submitting an application in Form 'A'. Once the
application, documents, and fees are received online, the Facilitator will review
the application's accuracy and provide a Registration certificate in Form 'B'
along with a Labour Identification Number (LIN).
The employer must submit an application for renewal of the
Registration in Form 'D' accompanied by the appropriate fees, no less than 30
days prior to the Registration's expiration date.
In the case of shutting the business, the employer must
notify the Facilitator within 30 days by filing Form 'J'.
Once the Facilitator receives and verifies the information's
accuracy, the establishment will be removed from the Register of
Establishments, and the Registration certificate will be cancelled.
Establishments with less than 10 employees
Establishments with fewer than 10 employees only need to
notify the facilitator about the start of their business.
Within 60 days of commencing operations, these
establishments must file an online notice of business commencement with the
Facilitator designated under the New Shops Act. This notice must be submitted
on Form F along with the documents listed in Part C of the Schedule to the New
Shops Rules. Except for this notification requirement, establishments with
fewer than ten workers are not obligated to comply with the New Shops and
Establishments Act.
To register, go to www.lms.mahaonline.gov.in and complete
the process online. Your records will be stored electronically, and the
registration will be valid for a lifetime.
If an employer closes their business, they must inform the
Facilitator within 30 days by submitting Form 'K.' Once the information is
received and verified for accuracy, the establishment's registration will be
removed from the Register of Establishments.
Employers with more than ten workers must submit Form 'J' to
the Facilitator to apply for closure of their establishment, while those with
fewer than ten workers must submit Form 'K'.
Some of the key provisions of the Maharashtra Shops and
Establishment Act 2017 are:
1) Hours of operation:
Movie theatres, restaurants, banking institutions, medical practices, and retail establishments in Maharashtra can now operate 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. However, establishments that sell alcohol or cigarettes
are excluded from this rule and must adhere to existing deadlines.
2) Protection of women:
To comply with the
Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, the Act ensures that women workers are not
discriminated against in recruitment, training, promotion, and wages. Women
workers are generally expected to work between 7 a.m. and 9:30 p.m., but in
case of emergencies, they may work beyond these hours if their workplace is
safe and transportation is available for them to commute back home. The state
government may prohibit women's employment after 9:30 p.m. and before 7 a.m. in
certain areas or industries.
3) Over time:
As time goes by, it will be ensured that employees work for
a maximum of nine hours per day and 48 hours per week. In case the employer
fails to comply, they will have to compensate their employees by paying double
their regular wages for overtime.
4) Weekly Off:
An establishment may
operate all days of the week, provided that every worker is granted a weekly
holiday of at least 24 consecutive hours of rest. Failure to provide such
weekly offs will require the employer to offer compensatory leave, with twice
the rate of ordinary wages, within two months of the missed weekly holiday.
5) Casual Leaves & Holidays:
As per the Act, employees are entitled to eight casual
leaves (CLs) and can accrue up to 45 days of paid leave annually. The employer
must designate eight days as paid festival holidays, with four of them being
national holidays. The remaining four festival holidays may be agreed upon by
the employer and their employees.
6) Welfare of workers:
The legislation mandates that the employer is responsible
for ensuring that adequate measures are in place for the health and safety of
their employees. This includes maintaining cleanliness, hygiene, ventilation,
and appropriate lighting to promote the safety and well-being of the employees.
Specifically, the law outlines several safety measures that
must be followed:
- Providing first-aid
facilities at the workplace,.
- Maintaining clean drinking water accessible to all employees,
- Ensuring adequate washroom facilities for both genders,
- Providing a crèche facility for children of workers for
establishments with 50 or more employees, and
- Providing and maintaining a
canteen for establishments with 100 or more workers.
- Additionally, the establishment's name board must be
written in Marathi language using Devanagari script and placed at the beginning.
7) Validity of license:
The Gumasta license typically remains valid for a year and
can be extended for up to 10 years. To renew the license, an application must
be submitted each year at least 30 days before the expiration date of the
registration certificate.
8) Form F in Shop Act:
For establishments with less than ten workers, the employer
must file an online notification in Form 'F' to commence business, accompanied
by the necessary documents listed in Part 'C' of the Schedule.
9)No Return Filing:
One advantage of obtaining a shop act license is that
individuals who are registered under the Shop & Est Act do not need to file
a return, eliminating the need for return filing.
10) Compliance and flexibility under the Act
The Shop & Est Act offers a combination of compliance
and flexibility. While there are no specific notice period requirements for
resignation or termination of employment under the Act, employers have the
flexibility to set notice periods as per their discretion in employment
contracts. However, in case of termination without cause, employers must comply
with the retrenchment provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This
allows employers to tailor notice period provisions based on the employee's
role, seniority, and designation, rather than applying a uniform rule for all
employees.
The Act designates facilitators to implement its rules, who
will examine the registered establishments' premises, assess paperwork, and
guide them on meeting the standards. The penalty for violating the New Shops
Act has been set at Rs. 100,000 to ensure that employers comply with the rules.
In addition, if the breach continues, a further fine of up to Rs. 2,000 per day
may be levied. The maximum penalty has now been raised to Rs. 500,000.
