The Meghalaya Shops and Commercial Establishments Act and its accompanying Rules apply to all shops and commercial establishments across Meghalaya. 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. 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 goods are sold — retail or wholesale — or where services are rendered to customers. This includes offices, storerooms, godowns, or warehouses connected to that trade or business, as well as workshops such as automobile 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 establishment must be registered under the Act. Registration is valid for a calendar year and must be renewed annually.
- Applications for registration or renewal go to the Labour Commissioner, or an officer they authorize, 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.
- This certificate must be displayed prominently at the establishment.
Compliances
Compliance requirements follow the Meghalaya Shops and Establishments Rules.