Extension of the Punjab Shops & Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2025 to Chandigarh

The Central Government, vide notification no. S.O.5647(E), dated 5^th December 2025, has extended the Punjab Shops & Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2025, to the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Earlier, the Government of Punjab, vide notification no. 13-Leg./2025, dated 28^thAugust 2025, had amended the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, by notifying the Punjab Shops & Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2025. The following are the key highlights of the amendment:

1. The provisions of the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, shall apply to the shops and establishments employing twenty or more workers, whereas to shops and establishments employing less than twenty workers, only section 13-A shall be applicable.

2. A new section (Section 13-A) has been inserted, which mandates every establishment with fewer than twenty workers to submit an intimation of business to the inspector in a prescribed format within six months from the date of commencement of the Punjab Shops & Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2025, or within a period of six months from the date of commencement of business.

3. If at any point in time, the number of workers engaged in the establishment becomes twenty or more, then all the provisions of the Act shall apply, and accordingly, registration has to be obtained.

4. Daily total working hours have been increased from nine hours to ten hours. However, weekly hours shall remain as forty-eight.

5. Quarterly maximum overtime hours have been increased from fifty hours to one hundred and forty-four hours.

6. Spread over hours have been increased from ten hours to twelve hours.

7. Every establishment with twenty or more employees shall, within a period of six months from the date of commencement of business, apply for registration.

8. The inspector has to issue the registration certificate within twenty-four hours. If the registration certificate is not issued within a period of twenty-four hours from the date of receipt of the application, the registration certificate shall be deemed to have been granted.

9. The registration certificate shall be prominently displayed at the establishment.

10. If there are any subsequent changes in the details furnished by the employer at the time of registration, an intimation with details of changes shall be made within thirty days of such change, and a fresh registration certificate shall be obtained.

11. The employer shall, within thirty days of the closure of the establishment, give an intimation of such closure to the inspector and cancel (surrender) the registration.

As per the latest notification from the Central Government, the above amendment shall also apply in Chandigarh.