The Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 2019 and its accompanying Rules, 2020 apply to all shops and commercial establishments across Gujarat. 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.
All provisions apply to shops and establishments employing ten or more workers, except Section 7, which applies specifically to establishments with fewer than ten workers.
Key Definitions
Establishment covers any business, trade, manufacturing, journalistic or printing work, or work in banking, insurance, stocks and shares, brokerage, exchange, or a profession — including any work connected with, incidental to, or ancillary to such activities. This includes:
- Establishments run by medical practitioners (hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, polyclinics, maternity homes), architects, engineers, accountants, tax consultants, or other technical or professional consultants
- Societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and charitable or other trusts (registered or not) carrying on business, trade, or professional work
- Shops, residential hotels, restaurants, eating houses, theatres, or other places of public amusement or entertainment not covered by the Factories Act, 1948
- Any other establishment the State Government notifies in the Official Gazette
Shop means any premises where goods are sold — retail or wholesale — or where services are rendered to customers. This includes offices, storerooms, godowns, warehouses, or workplaces connected to that trade or business, whether on the same premises or elsewhere, but excludes factories.
Registration
- Within sixty days of the Act’s commencement, or of a shop or establishment starting business, the employer must apply for registration with the concerned Inspector, in the prescribed form, along with the required fees, self-declaration, and self-certified documents. Establishments already validly registered under the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 1948 are exempt from this until their existing registration expires.
- On receiving the application, documents, and fees, the Inspector registers the establishment in the register of establishments and issues a registration certificate to the employer within the prescribed time limit. The certificate must be produced whenever the Inspector demands it.
- The registration certificate remains valid from the date of issue until there’s a change in ownership or the nature of the business. If either changes, the employer must obtain a fresh certificate.
Statutory Compliances
The compliance forms for these rules are available here.