The Shops and Establishments Act in Bihar was created across the state to regulate the working conditions for employees. Apart from catering to employee working conditions, this Act also focuses on employee rights within an establishment.

A list of obligations is provided to every employer as standards to ensure all employees and clients are protected under the rules. Read on to find out more about it!

All commercial shops and establishments operating a trade, a service or a company within the mentioned locations of Bihar can register under the Act. Owners who have restaurants, theatres, stores, shopping centres, hotels, retail shops, etc., should mandatorily register under this Act.

Additionally, owners of establishments should complete their shop registration in Bihar within 30 days of the inauguration of business.

Apart from the eligibility, people should know the process of shop and establishment registration in Bihar.

The Bihar Shops and Establishments Act exempts certain establishments such as:

• Establishments under the local authorities, Central government, and State government. Commercial undertakings are not part of this.
• Any service related to water transport, railways, telephone, telegraph, postal, supplies of water, light, power, etc.
• Dining cars in railway, any establishments of the FCI or Food Corporate of India.
• Establishments catering to the treatment of sick, mentally unstable or infirm.
• Offices related to banking companies are also not part of this Act.

Well, this exemption varies from one state to another. However, the State government has all rights to add additional establishments from acquiring registration in addition to the shops listed above.

Owners who are willing to register shops in Bihar should follow the steps mentioned below:

Step 1: Visit the official website and select ‘Application for registration’ Form-1.

Step 2: Enter the necessary details in the form as mentioned and submit it. 

Step 3: An applicant will receive a username and password on their provided email ID and phone number.

Step 4: Your specified bank will give you a challan. Alongside, attach all the essential documents such as a copy of the Aadhaar card, MOA, etc. After submission of documents with the challan, the applicant receives a receipt number.

Step 5: Submit the form to the relevant authority or the Labour Officer of your region.

After verification from the Labour department, you will receive a registration certificate.

All applicants eligible under each establishment should submit the necessary documents during the registration of shops and establishments in Bihar. They are listed below:

1. PAN card of owner or business to be provided.
2. Photograph of the establishment or shop with its signboard.
3. Address proof of shop or establishment.
4. ID proof of the owner of the establishment.
5. Certificate of incorporation, partnership deed, LLP agreement and Memorandum or Articles of Association.
6. Details of every employee.
7. Payment Challan.

Detailed below are some simple steps which an applicant can use to check the application status of registration of shops and establishments in Bihar:

Step 1: Go to the online portal and click on the ‘Citizen Section’ option.

Step 2: Then, navigate to the ‘Track Application Status’ given on the homepage.

Step 3: As the ‘Track Application’ form appears, select the options that are suitable, enter the application reference number, date and submit.

Step 4: You can see the status displayed on the screen.

Now that you know how to check your application status online, let’s proceed to find out about the exemptions under this Act.

Here are some of the regulations under the Bihar Shops and Establishments Act:

• Opening and Closing Hours of Establishment: Owners of establishments should not open offices before 8:00 am and close after 10 pm on any working day. That said, the State government can alter the hours for various establishments or in various locations. However, this does not apply to businesses which conduct two or more trades or businesses. Also, no employee should carry on with services after closing hours or before opening hours. These are not applicable to hawkers in the street.

• Daily and Weekly Working Hours for Adult Employees: No adult employee in any shop or establishment should work more than 48 hours in a week or 9 hours in a day. These working hours include his intervals and rest for meals and related activities. However, other than children and young people, employees who are related to accounts or related purposes can work excess hours. In that case, total working hours should not exceed 10 hours in a day or 54 hours in a week.

• Overtime Wages to Employees: Employees who are working overtime should receive overtime wages that include twice the normal wages. This includes the basic wages and the other allowances as well. However, it does not include a bonus.

• Spreadover: The interval periods of nay employees in any establishment in a day should not spread more than:

  • 8 hours for a child.
  • 10 hours for a young person.
  • 12 hours for other employees.

• Weekly Holidays: All establishments in Bihar should remain closed for one day a week. However, an owner can choose to keep the establishment open on a holiday in case it falls on the opening day of the financial year. In addition, sections related to the opening hours and closing hours, weekly holidays do not imply to establishments such as:

  • Waiting rooms/refreshment rooms and stalls located in railway stations, airports, ports, and bus stands.
  • Establishments catering to medicines, surgical appliances and medicines.
  • Barber shops/saloons and parlours.
  • Boarding rentals, residential staycations, hotels, hostels and clubs attached to the schools and colleges.
  • Shops dealing in products related to funerals, burials and cremations.
  • Shops retailing poultry, eggs, fish, meat, dairy products, confectionery, chocolates and ice-creams, cooked food, vegetables, green fodder and flowers.
  • Stalls catering to smoking and alcohol for consumption on premises.
  • Stalls dealing in news agencies, periodicals and newspapers.
  • Refreshment zones attached to cinemas, theatres and public entertainment.
  • Establishments retailing petrol, garrison shops, troop cantonments and regimental institutes.
  • Oil and flour mills not registered under Factories Act 1948, lime and brick kilns, and tanneries.
  • Establishments of information technology, biotechnology and research institutes for epidemic and related diseases.

• Other Holidays: All employees must enjoy holidays with full pay on Independence Day, Republic Day and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday every year. If any employee needs to work on these holidays, owners must pay him full wages at double rates of normal. However, the State government might suspend operations of any provisions of the Act on any of these holidays due to any reasons.

• Service Card for Employees: All employees of any establishment should receive an employee service card in a fully prescribed form.

• Daily Working Hours of Children and Young People: Any owner of an establishment should not employ a child below 14 years of age to work as an employee. Furthermore, any woman or child is not entitled to work before 8 am or after 10 pm in any establishment covered under this Act. A young person working in any establishment should not work for more than 7 hours in a day or 42 hours in a week.

• Annual Leaves: All employees who worked for 240 days or more in an establishment are allowed to get leaves with wages. However, an application for leave has to be provided 15 days before the employee goes on leave. Additionally, employees can enjoy:

  • Casual leave with full payment for 12 days in a year.
  • Sick leave with half payment for 12 days in a year. However, the person has to produce the medical certificate.

Applicants applying for shop establishment registration in Bihar receive certain benefits that help them to run their businesses legally.

The primary benefits are listed below:

• After registration of their respective shops and establishments, it becomes easier for an applicant to start their business.
• There is minimum compliance attached to the registration of any establishment.
• Separate auditing and ITR are not required here after the registration process is done.
• The whole process is done online, so it saves a lot of time and money.