Haryana amends Shops & Commercial Establishments framework; revises applicability thresholds, expands working hour limits, restructures registration system and introduces new employer duties

The Government of Haryana has promulgated the Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 (“Ordinance”), introducing structural modifications to the regulatory framework originally enacted under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 (“Principal Act”). The amendments recast the applicability of the Act, revise permissible working hours, substantially overhaul registration and intimation requirements, modernise references to national criminal statutes, expand penalty structures, and introduce new employer obligations relating to appointment letters and identity cards.

Key Highlights:

1. Earlier, the law applied uniformly to shops and commercial establishments in Haryana. The amendment now creates a two-tier applicability structure- all compliance obligations apply only to establishments employing twenty or more workers, while smaller establishments employing fewer than twenty workers are covered only for the purpose of providing a basic online intimation.
2. Earlier, employees could be required to work only up to nine hours in a day. The amendment increases this limit to ten hours per day, extending the permissible daily working span for all covered establishments.
3. Previously, the amount of overtime allowed in a quarter was capped at fifty hours. The amendment dramatically raises this limit to one hundred fifty-six hours in a quarter.
4. Earlier, an employee could not be made to work continuously for more than five hours without a mandatory break for rest. The amendment increases the duration of permissible continuous work to six hours before a rest interval is required, thereby modifying how employers may structure work shifts.
5. Previously, all establishments regardless of size were required to undergo full registration, submit prescribed details, obtain a registration certificate, renew it periodically, notify changes, and report closure. The amendment replaces this with a differentiated online compliance system.

• Establishments employing twenty or more workers must now complete a full online registration, including details such as employer information, manager details, address with GPS coordinates, business nature, workforce strength and other prescribed particulars, after which they receive a registration certificate valid until amended or cancelled.
• Establishments employing fewer than twenty workers are no longer required to undergo full registration and instead must only submit an online intimation, based on which they receive a Basic Information Performa ID.

1. Earlier, the law did not mandate that the registration certificate be issued within a time-bound service window. The amendment now requires authorities to issue certificates within timelines notified under the Haryana Right to Service framework.
2. Previously, penalties for registration related non-compliance were minimal and fixed. The amendment introduces a graded penalty system with substantially higher amounts: monetary penalties now begin at a few thousand rupees and increase on repeat violations, with further per-day penalties imposed for continuing defaults.
3. Earlier, the law referenced the older national criminal code when defining a “public servant.” The amendment updates this reference to align with the newly enacted national criminal legislation, thereby bringing the Shops and Commercial Establishments framework in sync with the new penal code.
4. Under the older regime, the consequences for non-maintenance or falsification of statutory records such as attendance, working hours, rest intervals, leave particulars and displayed notices were relatively low. The amendment enhances these penalties, replacing nominal fines with a contemporary structure involving significantly higher fines and continuing daily penalties for repeated non-compliance.
5. Previously, the law did not require employers to issue any formal appointment letters or identity cards. The amendment introduces two new mandatory obligations: employers must now provide every employee with an appointment letter containing the employee’s photograph and acknowledgment and must also issue a prescribed identity card to every worker.
6. Earlier, non-cooperation with inspecting authorities including refusal to provide records or obstructing an inspection attracted only nominal penalties. The amendment substantially increases these penalties.
7. Previously, where an offence under the Act did not have a specific penalty prescribed, only a minimal general penalty applied. The amendment replaces this with a modernised penalty range, introducing significantly higher first-time and repeat-offence penalties along with per-day penalties for continuing contraventions

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Source: Haryana Gazette