Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948.
2. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Gujarat.
3. (3) It shall in the first instance come into force in the local areas specified in Schedule I : Provided that in the areas in which all or any of the provisions of the Saurashtra Shops and Establishments Act, 1955 were in force immediately before the commencement of the Bombay Shops and Establishments (Gujarat Extension and Amendment) Act, 1961, all the provisions of the Act shall come into force on such commencement.
4. (4) The State Government shall by notification published in the Official Gazette direct that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall come into force in such other local areas having a population of twenty-five thousand and more as may be specified in the notification.
5. (5) The State Government may also by a like notification direct that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall come into force in such local areas having population less than twenty-five thousand as may be specified in the notification.

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-

1. (1) "Apprentice" means a person who is employed, whether on payment of wages or not, for the purpose of being trained, in any trade, craft or employment in any establishment;
2. (2) "Child" means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year;
3. (3) "Closed" means not open for the service of any customer, or for any business of the establishment, or for work, by or with the help of any employee, of or connected with the establishment;
4. (4) "Commercial establishment" means an establishment which carries on any business, trade or profession or any work in connection with, or incidental or ancillary to, any business, trade or profession and includes a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and a charitable or other trust, whether registered or not, which carries on, whether for purposes of gain or not, any business, trade or profession or work in connection with or incidental or ancillary thereto but does not include a factory, shop, residential hotel, restaurant, eating house, theatre or other place of public amusement of entertainment;
5. (5) "Day" means the period of twenty-four hours beginning at midnight : Provided that in the case of an employee whose hours of work extend beyond midnight, day means the period of twenty-four hours beginning when such employment commences irrespective of midnight;
6. (6) "Employee" means a person wholly or principally employed, whether directly or through any agency and whether for wages or other consideration, in or in connection with any establishment; and includes an apprentice but does not include a member of the employer's family;
7. (7) "Employer" means a person owning or having ultimate controls over the affairs of an establishment;
8. (8) "Establishment" means a shop, commercial establishment, residential hotel, restaurant, eating house, theatre or other place of public amusement or entertainment to which this Act applies and includes such other establishment as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be an establishment for the purposes of this Act;
9. (9) "Factory" means any premises which is a factory within the meaning of clause (m) of section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948, or which is deemed to be a factory under section 85 of the said Act;
10. (10) "Goods" includes all materials, commodities and articles;
11. (11) "Holiday" means a day on which an establishment shall remain closed or on which an employee shall be given a holiday under the provisions of this Act;
12. (12) "Inspector" means an Inspector appointed under section 48;
13. (13) "Leave" means leave provided for in CHAPTER- VII of this Act;
14. (14) "Local area" means any area or combination of areas to which this Act Applies;
15. (15) "Local Authority" means, (i) a municipal corporation constituted under the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949;
    • (ii) a municipality constituted under the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963; or
    • (iii) a district Panchayat constituted under the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1961; and includes any other body which the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a local authority for the purposes of this Act;
16. (16) "Manager" means a person declared to be a manager under section 7;
17. (17) "Member of the family of an employer" means the husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister of an employer who lives with and is dependant on such employer;
18. (18) "Opened" means opened for the service of any customer, or for any business of the establishment, or for work, by or with the help of any employee, of or connected with the establishment;
19. (19) "Period of work" means the time during which an employee is at the disposal of the employer ;
20. (20) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;
21. (21) "Prescribed authority" means the authority prescribed under the rules made, under this Act ; (22)"Register of establishments" means a register maintained for the registration of establishements under this Act ;
22. (23) "Registration certificate" means a certificate showing the registration of an establishment granted or renewed under section 7;
23. (24) "Residential hotel" means any premises used for the reception of guests and travellers desirous of dwelling or sleeping therein and includes a residential club;
24. (25) "Restaurant or eating house" means any premises in which is carried on wholly or principally the business of the supply meals or refreshments to the public or a class of the public for consumption on the premises;
25. (26) "Schedule" means a Schedule appended to this Act ;
26. (27) "Shop" means any premises where goods are sold, either by retail or wholesale or where services are rendered to customers, and includes an office, a store room, godown, warehouse or work place, whether in the same premises or otherwise, mainly used in connection with such trade or business but does not include a factory, a commercial establishment, residential hotel, restaurant, eating house, theatre or other place of public amusement or entertainment ;
27. (28) "Spread-over" means the period between the commencement and the termination of the work of an employee on any day ;
28. (29) "Theatre" includes any premises intended principally or wholly for the exhibition of pictures or other optical effects by means of a cinematograph or other suitable apparatus or for dramatic performances or for any other public amusement or entertainment ;
29. (30) "Wages" means wages as defined in the Payment of Wages Act, 1936;
30. (31) "Week" means the period of seven days beginning at midnight of Saturday ;
31. (32) "Year" means a year commencing on the first day of January;
32. (33) "Young person" means a person who is not a child and has not completed his seventeenth year.

References to the time of day in this Act are references to Indian standard time which is five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich mean time.

1. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the provisions of this Act mentioned in the third column of Schedule II shall not apply to the establishments, employees and other persons mentinoned against them in the second column of the said Schedule : Provided that the State Government may, by notification published in the Official Gazette, add to, omit or alter any of the entires of the said Schedule subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in such notification and on the publication of such notification, the entries in either column of the said Schedule shall be deemed to be amended accordingly.
2. (2) Every notification issued under the proviso to sub-section (1) shall be laid for not less than thirty days before the State Legislature as soon as may be after it is issued and shall be subject to such rescission by the State Legislature or to such modification as the State Legislature may make during the session in which the notification is so laid or the session immediately following.
3. (3) Any rescission or modification so made by the State Legislature shall be published in the Official Gazette, and shall thereupon take effect.

1. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare any establishment or class of establishments to which, or any person or class of persons to whom, this Act or any of the provisions thereof does not for the time being apply, to be an establishment or class of establishments or a person or class of persons to which or whom this Act or any provisions thereof with such modifications or adaptations as may in the opinion of the State Government be necessary shall apply from such date as may be specified in the notification.
2. (2) On such declaration under sub-section (1), any such establishment or class of such establishments or such person or class of persons shall be deemed to be an establishment or class of establishments to which, or to be an employee or class of employees to whom, this Act applies and all or any of the provisions of this Act with such adaptation or modification as may be specified in such declaration, shall apply to such establishment or class of establishments or to such employee or class of employeed.

6. The 19[State] Government may, be notification in the Official Gazette, suspend the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act for such period and subject to such conditions as it deems fit on account of any Holidays or occasions.