Assam Shops and Establishments Act, 1971
The Assam Shops and Establishments Act, 1971 and its accompanying Rules apply to all shops and commercial establishments across Assam. The Act protects employees’ rights by regulating wage payment, terms of service, work hours, rest intervals, overtime, opening and closing hours, closed days, holidays, leave (including maternity leave and benefits), working conditions, the employment of children, and record-keeping.
Key Definitions
Commercial establishment covers businesses engaged in advertising, commission work, forwarding, or commercial agency; a factory department where staff work in a clerical capacity in a space with no manufacturing process; the clerical department of any industrial or commercial undertaking, including public transport; insurance companies, joint stock companies, brokers’ offices, or exchanges; and any other establishment the State Government notifies as a commercial establishment under the Act. It excludes shops and establishments for public entertainment or amusement.
Establishment means a shop, a commercial establishment, or an establishment for public entertainment or amusement.
Shop means any premises where a trade or business operates, or where services are provided to customers — including offices, storerooms, godowns, or warehouses connected to that trade or business, as well as workshops such as automobile repair garages, accountants’ offices, drawing and design firms, and solicitors’ offices. It excludes commercial establishments, shops attached to a factory where employees already receive benefits under the Factories Act, 1948, and establishments for public entertainment or amusement.
Registration
- Every employer must register their establishment under the Act. Registration is valid for a calendar year and must be renewed annually.
- Applications for registration or renewal go to the Chief Inspector, or an officer the Chief Inspector authorizes, in the prescribed form, by the prescribed date, and with the prescribed particulars.
- Registration and renewal fees are set by the State Government.
- On registration or renewal, the employer receives a certificate of registration (or renewal certificate) containing the prescribed particulars, which must be displayed prominently at the establishment.
Statutory Compliances
Maintenance of registers and records, and display of notices: subject to the State Government’s general or special orders, employers must maintain the prescribed registers and records, and display the prescribed notices, on the establishment’s premises. All registers and records must be kept at the premises to which they relate.