THE ASSAM SHOPS AND ESTABLISHMENTS ACT,1948

I ..... • A~ ACT XIII OF 1948 THE ASSAM SHOPS AND ESTABLISHMENTS ACT ·l. 1948 (Received the assent of the Governor on the 17th June 11)4.8) [Published in the Assam Gazette of the 30th June, 1948] Pr~amble . Short title, commerce­ ment !lnd application. An Act To provide for and regulate the holidays, pay­ ment of wages and leave of persons employed in shops, commercial establishments and establililh­ ments for public entertainment or amusement, and the hours of work of persons so employed. WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for and regulate the holidays, payment of wages and leave of persons employed in shops, commercial establishments ar.d establi:hments for public entertainment or amusement, and the hours of work of persons so employed; It is hereby enacted as follows:- I. l I) This Act may be called the As~ am Shops and Establishments Act, 1948. (2) It shall come into foree on such date 1 as the [Statej ! Gc.ven.ment may, Ly notification, appoint. (3) It shall apply in the first instance to the Municipalities of Dhubri, Gauhati, Tezpur, Nowgong, Jorh.at, Dibrugarh and Silchar as declared or consti­ tuted under the provisions of the Assam Municipal Act, 1923, and to [the area for the time being comprised within the Cantonment and l\.Junicip2lity of Sh!llong but excluding so much of its area as forrrs part Qf the TJr: ited Khasi and Jaintia Hills District}'i; and thereafter it shall apply to such other areas, or to such shops, commercial establi~hments or establish­ ments for public entertainment or amusement in such other areas as the [State] Government may, by notifi­ cation, specify. Assam Act I of 1913. 1. Came into force from 16th May, 1949-See Notification No.GGN.57f4:3f79, datod the 16th May, 19<9. 2. Substituted by A. 0., 1950 for "Provincial". 3. Substituted by A. 0, 1950 for "the Domirion of India portion of the Khasi aud .Jaintia Hills District other than that decbrec:! to te a r artially Excluded Areas by the Government of lndia (Excluded fond P ..: rtially Excluded Areas) Order, 1936". Price 0•25 pai~e or 6d. per copiee. _I Definitions. 2. In this Act, unless there IS anything repugnant in the subject or context- ,.. (I) "Child" means a person who has not com­ pletef'l his twelfth year of age ; (2) "Closed" means not open for the service of any customer ; (3) "commercial establishment" means an establishment in which there is conducted th~ business of advertising, commission, forwarding or commercial agency, a department of a factory in which persons are employed in a clerical capacity in any room or place where no manufacturing process is being carried on, 11 clerical department of any indus'.rial or commer­ cial undertaking, including one of public transport, an insurq.nce company, joint stock company, broker's office, Qr exchange, or such other establishment or class thereof as the State-!. Government mav, by notifi­ cation, declare to be a commercial eslablbhtnent for the purposes of this Act, but does not include a shop or an establishment for public entertainment or amusement ; (4) ''day" means a period of lWe:lty-fJur hours beginning at midnight ; (5) "employer" means a person owning or having charge of the b usiness of a commercial estalJlish­ ment or establishment for public entertainment or amusement, and includes an agent or manager of, and any other pernn acting on beh<df of, such person in the general management or control 0f such establishment; (6) t<establishilent for public entertainment or amusement" means a restaurant, eating-house, cafe, cinema, theatre and such other est ,blishment or class thereof as the State~ Government may, by notification, declare to be, for the purposes of this Act, an estalJlish­ ment for public entertainment or amusement, b1t does not include a shop or a commercial establishment; (7) "factory" means a fac tory as de ~ned in, Act XXV of or declared to be a factory under, the Factorie~ A.ct, 1931-. 1934; (8) "Half day" means a period of six consecutive hours between the hours of half past seven o'clock ante meridiem and seven o'clock post meridiem ; --~-------~~··---- ----------- 1. Substituted by A, 0. 1950 for ' 'Provinchl". •; (9) ''notificat=' n" means a notification published in the official Gazette ; ( l 0) "person employed' ' means- (i) in the case of a shop, a person wholly or principally employed in the shop in con­ nection with the business of the shop, (ii) in the case of a commercial establishment, a person wholly or principa!ly employed in connection with the busineas of the establi5hment, or in the case of a factory, a person err. played in a cle1 ical capacity in any room or place where no manu­ facturing process is being carried on, ;, ii ) in the case of an establishment for public entertainment or amusement, a person wholly or principa lly employed in the preparation or serving of food, or drink, or in attendance upon customers, or in cleaning any part of the estaltlishment, or the utensils used therein, or as attend­ a :.t, cashier, clerk, doorkeeper, operator or usher, or in some other similar capacity, but does not include a shop-keeper or employer or the husband, w ife, child, father, motr1er brother or sister of a shop-kr:eper or employer who lives with, and is depen­ dent on, such shop-keeper or employer ; ( l i) "prescribel" m ':':ans prescribed by rules; ( 12) "rules" •neans r ,des made under th is Act ; (13) "shop" means any premises used wholly or in part for the wholesale or retail sale of c~mmodities or ar ticles, either for cash or on credit, and such other premises as the l. State;Government may, by notifica~ tion, declare to be a shop for the purposes of this Act, but does not include a commercial establishment or an establishment for public entertainment or amusement ; (14) "shop-keeper" means a person owning or h aving charge of the business of a shop, and includes an agent or manager of, and any other person acting on behalf of, such person in the general management or control of a shop ; (15) "week" means a period of seven days begin­ ning at midnight on Saturday ; and ( 16) "year" means the period be~inning on January the first, and ending on December 31st. 1. Substituted by A. \.1, l9s0 for " Pro vincial". 4 .. ReJerence to 3. References to the time of day ill this Act shall time of day be deemed to be references to Indian Standard Time, or any alternative time that the State ~ Government may prescribe as Stan :lard time for Assam. Powers of 4. (l) The State~ Government may for the purposes ~eState l. of all or any of the provisions of this Act, by overmr.ent notification declare- (a) to be a shop, any premises which are not premises of a commercial establ1shment or of an establishment for public enter· tainment or amusement, (b) to be a commercial estaulish~ent, any establishment which is not a shop or an rstablishment for public entertainment or amusement, and (c) to be an establishment for public enter­ tainment or amusement, any establish­ ment which is not a shop or a commercial ~stablishmen t. (2) The provisions of lhis Act specified in a noti­ fication under sub-:ection ( l) shall apply to any premises or establishment which, under the provisions of that sub-section, has been declared to be a shop er a commercial tstablishment or an establishment for public ent~rtainment or ammement, as the case may be. (3) The 3tate ~ Government may, by notification on accGunt of such holiday or other occasion as may be prescribed, suspend th ·~ operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act in respect uf any shop or commercial esta0lishment, or establishment for public entertainment or amusement, or or ;.my class of shops or establishments as aforesaid for such period and subject to such conditions as it thinks fit. A~t not ap- 5. (I) Nothing in this Act shall apply to-- phcable to ( ) ffi f d 1 C 1 S l certain estab- a o ces o or un er t 1e entra or tate 1 lishments, Government, the Reserve Bank of India ~hops and or any other bank, any railway adminis- r ' persom. tration .2. or any local authority ; (b) any railway service, water transport service, tramway or motor service, p ostal, telegraph or telephone service, any system of public conservancy or sanitation, any industry, business or undertaking which supplies power, light or water to the public and such other public utility companies or associations or classes thereof as the State l Government may, by notification, exempt from the operation of this Act ; 1. Substituted by A. 0., 1950 for" Provincial" 2, Substituted 'by A. 0., 1950 i l•r ''any federal R ailway'' ~ (c) dubs, residen tial hotels and boarding-Louses; (d ) stalls and refreshment rooms at. railway stations, ducks, wharves and a1rports ; (C: establishments for the treatment or :are of the sick; infirm, destitute or mentally unfit; (f) shops or classes of shops, dealing mainly in vegetables, meat, fish, dairy produce, bread, pastries, sweetmeats, flowers so far as the retai I sale of these art ides is con­ <erned; (g) pharmacies or shops dealing mainly in medicines, surgical appliances, bandages or other medical requisites, so far as the sale of these ar ticles "is concerned ; (h) shops dealing in anicles required forfunerals, burials or c1 emations so L:tr as the sale o! the' e articl es is concerned ; (i) shops dealing in tobacco, cigars, cheeruots, cigarettea, biri~, pan, liquid refreshments sold retail for consumption on the pre­ mises, ice, Lewspapers or periodica ls, so f;, r as the sale of these articles is con­ cerned ; (j ) shops dealing in supplies, ~tores or other articles necessary for ships, w far as th~ sale of these articles for ships is concern· ed; (k) shops or stalls in any public exhibition or show, so far as such shops or stalls deal ill retail tradt which is solely subsidiary or ancillary to the main purposes of such exhibition or show ; (l) ~hops or stall> in any public fair or bazar h~ld fur a charitable puq:ose ; (m) barber's and hairdres>er's shops ; (n) shops dealing in petroleum products or spare parts for motor vehicles or cycles ; ( o) excise shops ; (p) any person employed in a managerial or confidential capacity, or as a traveller, canvasser, messenger, watch-man or care­ taker, or exclusively in connection with the collection, despatch, delivery, and conve­ yance or customs formalities of goods ; li Substituted by ll. 0., 1950 for !'Provincial". Lxcmptioa al child. Closing of shops. 6 ( q) such seasonal commerci.'ll eslablishments engaged in the purchase of raw jute or cotton or in cotton ginning or cotton or jute pres8ing, and the clerical departments of such seasonal factories, as the Statel­ Government may, by notification, exempt froril the operation of this Act ; (r) such othe1· establishments, shops or per­ sons ot classes of establishments, shops or pe rsons, as the State J. Government may, by notification, · exempt from the opera­ tion of all or any of the provisions of this Act. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sec­ tion (1), the State l. Government may, by notific:atiun, declate that any shop, establishment or person specified in that sub-~ection shall no~ be exempt from the opera­ tirm of such pr o~·isio r s of this Ace as may be specified in the noafication and that the provisions of this Act specified in such notification shall apply to such shop, establishment cr person, 6. No cbilcl shall be employed in any shop, com­ mercial es tablishment, or establishment for public enter­ tainment or ammement . 7, ( l ) Every shop sha1l be closed on on<: day in each week. (2) The State J Governmen t rna y, by notification, r-;:quire in respect of every ~hop, or of any specified class of shops that they shall be closed at such hour a:. may be specified i n t be afternoon of one specified day in each week, in addititn to the day referred to in sub-section (1): Provided that, when there are conducted in a shop two or more trades or businesses, any of which is of such a character that, if i t was the sole t rade or business therein conducted, the provisions of this Act would not apply to that shop, such shop shall, so far as the conduct of that trade or business is concerned, be exempt from the operation of this sub-section, and of sub ·~ection ( 1). (3) No deduction on account of any closure of a shop under the provisions of sub-section ( i) or sub-section (2) shall be made from the wages of any person employed in such shop. (4) The day on which a shop shall bt: closed in each week under the provJsions of sub-section (I) shall be such day as may be specified !by the shop-keeper in a notice, which shall be displayed in a conspicuous place in the shop: --~~--~-----------------------~----- I. Substituted by A. 0., 1950 for "Provnicial" 7 Provided that no shop-keeper shall, more often than Hours of works m shop. once in e~ry three months, alter the day so specified. 8. (1) No shop sha!l remain open after the hour of seven o'clock post meridiem ; but any customer who wa~ being, or wa1 waiting in the shop to be, sen·ed at such hour may be served during the period of thirty minutes immediately following such hour : Provided thatf when there are conducted in a shop two or more trades or business~s, any of which is of such a character that, if it wa9 the sole trade or business therein conducted, the provisions of this Act would not apply to that shop, such shop shall, so fa r as the conduct 0 1 tha t trade or busme;s is concerned, be exempt from the operation o ~ this sub-section. (2 ) No person employed in a shop !~hall be required or permitted to work in such sh'.J P for more tban nine hours in any one day, and for more than forty dght hours~ in any one week, and after the hour of seven o'clock post meridiem. . (3) No person employed in a shop shall be required or permitted to work in such shop f(Jr more than seven hours in any one day, unless he has been allowed an interval for rest of at least one hour during tha t day, such interva I to occur after the firs L four hours' continuous w0rk. (4) The periods of W1•rk and intervals for rest of each person employed in a shop shall be arranged by the shopkeeper so that together they do not extend over . . more than twelve hours in any one day. H olidays •1 ~ 9. (lJ Every person emplo)ed in a commercial esta­ c~s~~jj~~-a blishment shall be allowed aJ holidays at l<' ast one and a ments. half days in each week : Provided ·that , whrn there are conducted in a com· mercia! est <~ blishment t wo or more trades or businesses, any of which is of such a character that, if it was the sole trc>cle or business therein conducted , the provisions of this Act would not apply to that commercial esta· blishment, such < omm ercia l estaLlishment shalL so fas as the conduc ~ of that trade or business is con­ cerned, be exempt from the opel"ation of this sub-section. (2) No deduct iO 'l on account of any holiday allowed under the provisiuns of sub-sect ion ( 1) shall be rna de from)he wages of any person employed in such commer­ cial establishment. Holidays in 10. (l ) Notwithstanding anything contained in the A~;:t XVIU establish;rentWeekly2Holidays Act, 1942, every pe·son e mployed in a n of 1942· for pu~hc establishment for pubhc entertainrr·er: t cr amu!:ement entertamment 1 ll b 11 ..l h I'd 1 d h lf of amuser s 1a . e a oweu . os _o 1 ays at east one an a a ment days m each week: 2. Substituted for tLe wcrd s "fifty 1 errs·• by tl e ameHin:ent A ct }; I of lS64 r. 8 Provided that, when there ~re conducted in an establishment for public entertainment or amusement two or more trades or businesses, any of which is of such a character that, if it was the sole trade or business there­ in conducted, the provisions of this Act would not apply to that establishment, such establishment shall, so far as the conduct of that trade or business is concerned, be exempt from the operation of this sub-section. (2) No deduction on account of any holiday allowed under the provisions of sub-section ( 1) shall l:e made from the wages of am' person em ·>h yed in such establish­ ment for public entf'rtainment or amusement. Ho~:~ of 11. (l) No p ~rS ')n employed in an establishmeat for wor .. 1n esta- , 1' · 1 11 b · d hlishments puo lC ente rtainment or amusements 1a e requtre or for public permitted to work in such establishment for more than entertain- ten hours in any one day. mt!nt or amusement. (2) No r-ers n employed in an establishment lor public entertainment or amusement shall be required or permitted to work in such establishment- (a) for more than eight hours in any one day unless he has been allowed an interval for rest of at least ;>ne hour uuring that day, and (b) for more than six hours in any one day unless he h:!~ been allowt"d an interval for 1 est of at least half an hour during that day. (3) The periods of work ;.nd intervals for rest of each person employed in ;.. n es tal.J lish<I'ent for Public entertainment or amusement shall be arranged by the employer of such person s) that together they do not extend over more thar! fourteen hours in any one day. Payment of 12. All wages p:1yable to any person employed in a wages. shop, commercial est ablishment or establishment for public enterta'nment or amusement shall be payable not later than the tenth day of the month immediately succeeding that in respect of which such wages are payable. Leave. 13. Every person employed in a. shop, commercial establishment or establishment for public entertain­ ment or amusem ent shall be entitled- (a) after every twelve months' continur.us err;ployment, to privilege leave on full pay for a total reriod not exceeding sixteen days, r >1. ! . (b) in every year, to casual leave on full pay for a total period not exceeding ten days, and (c)· after every twelve months' continuous employment, to leave on medieal certificate on half pay for a period not exceeding one month, such certificate to be p· ovided by a registered practitioner as defined in Assam Act I clause (b) of section 2 of Assam Medical of 1919. Act, 1916: ProviOed that neither privilege leave admi.ssible under clause {a) nor casual leave a:lmissible under clause (b) shall be accumulated. Holi~ays for 14. Every person employ eLl in a shop, commercial rehgrous establishment or establishment for public entertain- purposes. ment or amusement shall he entitled to leave of absence for any days he may select, not exceeding three in number in anv one year, for the purpose of attending ceremonies or performing functions or duties connected with or enjoined by his religion. Maintenan- 15. (1) Every shop-keeper and employer of an cdes of r.ector- establishment for public entertainment or amuse- ' reg1s ers l r f h A . . 11ad notices. ment shal wr the purposes o t !S ct mamtam such records and registers, and display such notices, as n .ay be prescribed. (2) Every employer of a commercial e3tablishment shall for the purposes of this Act maintain such records and registers as may be prescribed. Inspection. 16. (J) The State l Government may, by notifica- tion, appoint such persons or such class of persons as it thinks fit to be Inspectors for the purposes of this Act within such local limits as it may assign to them resp ('cthel y. (2) All Inspectors appojnted under sub.section (1) shall be deemed to be public serv-ants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Act XLV ef Powers of 17. S• ,bject as may be prescribed, an Inspector 1860. Inspectcrs. appointed under section 16 may, for the purposes of this Act and within the lcca1 limits for which he is aJ>point...d, at all reasonable tirnes enter into any place which 1s, or which he has reason to believe is, a shop or a commocial establi~hment or an .establishment for public entertainment or amusement, with such assis­ tants, being public servants, as may be prescribed, and make such examination of that place ;; nd of any record, register or notice maintained theH in under the provisions of section 15 and may require such explanation of any su h record, register or notice as he may consider necessary for the purposes of this Act: 1. Substituted by A. 0., 1950 for "Provincial". J 10 Provided that no person shall be req;ired under this section to answer any question or give any evidence tending to criminate himself. Pcnahies. l8 (1) Whoever, being an employer or shop-keeper, contravenes any of th€ provisions of sections 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 shall, on conviction, be punishable with fine which, for a first offence, m ay extend to two hundred and fifty rupees and, for a second or any subsequent ofrence, may extend to five hun red rupees. (2) Whoever, being a n employer or shop ·keeper, contravenes any of the provi sions of sections 6, 12, 13, 14 or 15 and whoever, having custody ofany record, register or notice maintained under the pro· visions of section 15, refuses or, without sufficient cause, fails to produce it on b eing so required by an ln5pector under the provisions of section 17, shall, on conviction, be punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees. ProGcdurc. 19 . (1 ) No Court inferior to a Magistra te of the First Class shall try an offence punish able under this Act . (2) No Court shall take cogniz ance of an offence punishable under this Act except upon complaint · made by an Inspector appointed under section 16. Indemnity. 20. No suit, p rosecution or legal pr-oc~eding wha t- ever shall lie against any person in respect of anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules. S . f 21. Noth ing in this Act shall affect a ny right or avmg 0 • "l h" h 1 d · h c e r t a in pnv1 ege to w lC any person emp oye m any s op, rights and commercia l establishment or establishm~nt for pu blic privilege• . entertainment or amusement is entitled at the date of the comm encement of this Act under any other law for the time being in force or undeJ: any contract, custom or usage which is in force on that date, if such right or privilege is more favourable to him than any right or privilege conferred u pon him by 1his Act. Power to 22. (1) The State ~ Government may, after previous make rules. publication, make rules for carrying out t he purpo~es of t his Act. (2) In making any rule under this section the Statel. Government may direct that any person committing a breach thereof shall, on conviction, be punishable with fine, which may extend to fifty rupees, and where the breaeh is a continuing one, with a further fine which may ext.end to. ten rupees for every day, after the first, durmg wh1ch the breach continues. 1. Substituted by A. 0., 1950 for ' •Provincial", AGP (Leg) 17[65-950-19-12-66. ' . \ . ~ I '·'