The Nagaland Shops and Establishments Act, 1982 and its accompanying Rules, 2015 apply to all shops and commercial establishments across Nagaland. 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.
Establishment for public entertainment or amusement means a restaurant, eating house, café, cinema, theatre, or any other premises the State Government notifies as such. It excludes shops and commercial establishments.
Shop means any premises where a trade or business operates, or where services are rendered to customers — including offices, storerooms, godowns, or warehouses connected to that trade or business. 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
- For a shop or establishment not already in existence when the Act applies, the shopkeeper or employer must apply for registration under Section 36(1) within thirty days of starting business.
- Applications for registration or renewal go to the Chief Inspector, or an officer they authorize, in Form ‘B’ under Rule 4(2), by the prescribed date, with the prescribed particulars.
- Every application must include the requisite fee specified in Schedule I, Parts I(A), (B), and (C), along with the original Treasury challan showing the fee deposited under Head of Account “0230” — L and E.
- On receiving the application and fee, and once satisfied the particulars are correct, the registering authority registers the shop or establishment in the appropriate part of the register and issues a certificate of registration.
Compliances
Compliance requirements follow the Nagaland Shops and Establishments Rules, 2015.