Maharashtra Shop and Establishment Act
Applicability:
Maharashtra Shop and Establishment Act are applicable to all the shops and commercial establishments in the whole state of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Shop and Establishment Act regulates areas like Working hours, Overtime, Leave policy, Rest interval, Opening and closing hours, Closed days, National and religious holidays, Time and conditions of payment of wages, Deductions from wages, Maintain various Registers etc.
Registration:
Every business owner of a shop or commercial establishment must obtain a Shop and Establishment License within 30 days of beginning their business.
Firm establishments that employ more than 10 workers must obtain a license under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act within 60 days of commencement of business.
An establishment employing less than ten 10 workers is required to file an online intimation of commencement of business with the facilitator appointed under the New Shops Act within 60 days of commencement of business.
Certificate is normally valid for a period of 1 year and could be granted for a period of upto 10 years. Once, a registration is obtained, a renewal application can be submitted each year atleast 30 days before the date of expiry of the registration certificate for renewal.
Establishments exempted under the Act:
a) Establishment covered under Factories Act, 1948
b) Offices of, or under the central or state Government, or local authorities, except commercial Undertaking.
c) Any railway service, Water transport services, postal, telegraph or telephone service, any system of public conservation or sanitation or any industry, or services like water, Power, light to the public.
d) Employees exclusively employed in any establishment in the collection, delivery or conveyance of goods outside the premises of any establishment.
e) Establishments of medical practitioners, legal and Income tax practitioners.
f) Offices of Air Service Companies
g) Establishments of Chemists and Druggists.
Compliances:
a) Registration under the Act in Form A within 30 days from starting of business.
b) Mandatory registers to be maintained such as Holiday list.
Leave Policy:
Every worker who has worked for a period of 240 days or more during a calendar year shall be allowed during the subsequent calendar year, leave with wages for a number of days calculated at the rate of 1 day for every 20 days of work performed by him during the previous calendar year and 8 days as casual leave shall be calculated.
Employees can accumulate 45 days of paid leaves during the year.
Employer must to furnish letters of appointment to employees after appointment.
Hours of Operations :
Certain businesses in Maharashtra may now stay open 24/7. This includes movie theaters, restaurants, financial institutions, medical practices, and retail outlets. The Act excludes any establishment which sells alcohol or cigarettes from remaining open past passed existing deadlines.
Over-Time:
For any work in excess of 9 hours on any day or for more than 48 hours in any week, overtime wages are to be paid at the rate of double the ordinary rate of wages. Maximum limit for working overtime shall not exceed 3 hours.
Submission of Annual Report:
Every employer shall online upload the Annual Return in Form ‘R’ on the website within two months for the year ending on 31st December.
Interval for Rest and Meals:
No employee to work more than 5 hours in a continuity without a break for at least 1 hours of rest or a meal.
Employers are not allowed to hire children or individuals under the age of 15 including a child is a part of the family that owns the business.
No such woman shall be required or allowed to work in any establishment after 9.30 p.m.
Maternity Benefits:
Maternity leave must be at least 12 weeks, and any further period that may be specified in her medical certificate.
Must have a sufficient arrangement for the employee access to drinking water.
Every employer shall provide at the place of work first-aid facilities as may be prescribed.
Every employer has to adopt and implement all the safety measures mentioned, suggested, and recommended in the government’s Fire and Safety Policy, which may be further updated periodically.
Establishments must operate as per the timings prescribed by the Maharashtra government. However, the government can prescribe different opening and closing times for different classes of shops or commercial establishments.
Records Management:
a) Consent of Women worker to work in night shift as per Form L.
b) Leave record as per Form M.
c) Weekly holiday, Notice of shift as per Form N.
d) Muster Roll- Wage Register as per Form Q
The records and registers must be preserved for a period of 3 years.
Information regarding persons doing confidential work:
The information in Form ‘U’ relates to the names of persons who provide confidential information to the establishment. This needs to be submitted annually and whenever there is any change, during the year.
Penalties:
In order to ensure that employers take the provisions of the New Shops Act seriously, the penalty of Rs.1 Lac has been provided for contravention of this Act and in the case of continuing contravention, with an additional fine which may extend to Rs.20,000/- for every day during which such contravention shall continue. maximum penalty has been increased to Rs. 500000.
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Author – CA Gaurav Agrawal, Kishore Gupta & Co, Chartered Accountants in Practice from Central Delhi and can be contacted at gauravag.ca@gmail.com & Mobile Number 9711033545.
Author Bio
Please provide the link and procedure for shop and establishment regestration_ Maharastra