A trade licence is a legal certificate/document that grants permission to start a specific trade or business in a specific location. The Government has made this document mandatory in order to regulate various trade activities and ensure that there are no unethical businesses at the city level.

In the state of Himachal Pradesh, this document is issued by the respective municipalities or licencing authorities. Continue reading to know more about shop and establishment registration in Himachal Pradesh.

The provisions of this Act apply to any store or business institution established within the municipal boundaries of the state of Himachal Pradesh. Every employer must apply for the registration or renewal of his shop or commercial establishment within 30 days of the start of operation.

This Act is a mandatory requirement for any enterprise operating out of a store or facility. If there are any modifications to the establishment's closure, they must be reported to the appropriate authority within 15 days.

Establishments Exempted From Registration Under the Himachal Pradesh Shops and Commercial Establishment Act

The following are the entities which are exempted from the Shop and Establishment Act in Himachal Pradesh.

• Offices of or under the Government of India’s control or any State Government or Himachal Pradesh Government, any railway administration, the Reserve bank of India, or any local authority.
• Any air service, railway service, tramway, water transport service, telephone service or telegraph, postal, any system of public conservation or sanitation, or any business, industry, or undertaking that supplies water, power, or light to the public
• Law firms' offices
• Any person whose working hours are governed by or The Factories Act of 1948, (Central Act, 63 of 1948), except as provided in subsections (3), (4), and (5) section 7 of this Act as it relates to work in a factory;
• Railway dining cars
• Someone whose work is inherently intermittent

The following are the steps to register under the Himachal Pradesh Shop and Establishment Act.

Step 1: The applicant must first attend the licencing bureau within a specific municipal limit.

Step 2: He or she must file a request to the executive for a trading licence.

Note: One can also obtain the trade licence application form from Himachal Pradesh's official website.

Step 3: The applicant must complete the application form completely and without errors. Fill out the application form with the following information.

• Details about a new trade licence
• Address information for the applicant
• Alternate owner information
• License classification

Step 4: The applicant needs to submit an application form in the appropriate format to the relevant operator, together with all supporting documentation.

Step 5: The applicant must attach the required papers to the application form after submitting an application. Then they need to pay the registration fees as specified.

Follow the below steps to check the status of your Himachal shops and commercial establishment registration form:

Step 1: Visit the official site offering application tracking service.

Step 2: Once the homepage appears on your screen select the appropriate service name and feed in your application number.

Step 3: Now select the ‘search’ option to find the status.

Shop and Commercial Establishment registration certificate in Himachal only has a validity of 5 years. So, after this period expires you must apply for its renewal.

The following are the rules under the act of shop and establishment registration in HP.

1. Young Employees

• A young person working in the business of an establishment shall not work more than thirty hours in any week or five hours on any day, exclusive of breaks for meals and rest.
• A young person working in an establishment shall not be employed continuously for more than three hours without at least a half-hour break for food or rest.
• The Government may impose additional conditions on the employment of young people employed in the business of establishment or any class of them, including, if it sees fit, conditions on the daily period of employment of those people, and no such person shall be employed in any other way than in accordance with those conditions.
• In the event of a violation or failure to comply with the provisions of this section, the employer shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine of not less than four thousand rupees but not exceeding six thousand rupees.
• Where, in proceedings for an offence under this section, the person against whom the offence was committed was a young person, and he appears to the court to have been a young person at the date of the commission of the offence, he shall be presumed to have been a young person at that date unless the contrary is proved.

2. Hours of Employment

• Subject to the requirements of this Act, no individual shall work for an establishment for more than forty-eight hours in any week or nine hours on any day.
• During periods of seasonal or exceptional work pressure, a person employed in an establishment may be employed in the business of the establishment in excess of the working hours specified in sub-section 2. Provided, however, that
  • The total number of hours worked overtime by an employee does not exceed fifty in any quarter; and
  • The persons employed overtime shall be receiving remuneration at twice the rate of his normal wages calculated by the hour.

3. Interval for Rest or Meals

• Subject to the provisions of section 6, no employee, except a chowkidar, watchman, or guard, shall be permitted to work in an establishment for more than five hours without having had at least a half-hour interval for rest. 

However, the Government may, by notification, fix such interval for rest in respect of any class of establishments for the entire state of Himachal Pradesh or any part thereof as it may deem necessary.

• The establishment has to fix an employee's working hours. This is done so that the working hours, including 1 hour of break, do not exceed 10 hours.

4. Opening and Closing Hours

• The Government shall regulate the opening and closing hours of all sorts of establishments by notification, and distinct opening and closing hours may be established for certain groups of establishments and for various areas.

However, the Government may allow an establishment attached to a plant to follow the Government's opening and closing hours.

• The establishment shall remain closed on such days in a week as may be prescribed: Provided, however, that in the case of an establishment attached to a factory, the employer may substitute the close-day of such establishment in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as are laid down in the Factories Act, 1948.
• Within fifteen days of the establishment's registration, the employer shall notify the prescribed authority in the specified form of the working hours, the day in a week mentioned in clause (b) of section II, and the length of the interval of the employed person.
• The employer of an establishment may adjust the working hours and interval period once every quarter by notifying the authorised authorities in the required form at least fifteen days before the change is to take effect.
• Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (1), an establishment's employer may operate his business on the close-day if-
  • such a day coincides with a celebration; and
  • Employees who are obligated to work on that day are compensated at twice the rate of their typical hourly wage

5. Employees' Weekly Off Days

• No employee shall be permitted or needed to work-

on a closing day, at any establishment required to

(keep) a close day;

on one weekday in any other institution; and

before and after the establishment's opening hours

• The following are the establishment's closing hours: Provided, however, that a watchman may be permitted or required to work on an off day under this section if he is permitted or required to work on another off day during the week.

6. Holidays

• The establishment has to allow every employee in a business-

  • A holiday with pay on the Republic's Day, Independence Day, as well as Mahatma Gandhi's birthday; and
  • Three paid holidays per year in conjunction with such as declared by the Government from time-to-time notification: Provided, however, that if an employee works on any such holiday, he or she is entitled to remuneration at twice the rate of his customary hourly wage.

After registering under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, the proprietor of a shop or commercial enterprise can enjoy the following benefits:

• Registration aids in the establishment of the current account of the business.
• Registered business companies can easily obtain loans from financial institutions or banks.
• Power rates, tax advantages, and tax exemptions are available to businesses with registration certificates under the State Government's taxation system.
• One can use the registration certificates as evidence before the Municipality inspector or a State Government's Labour Department officer.

This is all for shop and establishment registration in Himachal Pradesh. Having proper knowledge of the entire procedure will enable one to streamline the process easily.