The Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was introduced to amend the Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments Act of 1958.
Labour Minister Anil Vij stated that the Bill aims to lessen the compliance burden on smaller businesses through reforms intended to foster economic growth while still protecting workers. However, Congress MLA Aditya Surjewala disagreed, questioning whether the provisions represent true ease of doing business or merely legalize “modern-day slavery”.
Minister Vij assured that the Bill is advantageous for both workers and shopkeepers, emphasizing its benefits for both groups.
The bill also includes a provision to raise the permissible limit of overtime work per quarter from 50 to 156 hours, allowing shops and commercial establishments to better meet peak business demands.
Additionally, it seeks to extend the maximum continuous working period without a break from five to six hours.
Surjewala proposed an amendment supported by his party members to maintain the current nine-hour limit, but the House dismissed it through a voice vote.
He highlighted that the Bill enables a shift from nine to ten daily working hours and proposes increasing overtime from 50 to 156 hours, effectively adding two extra hours daily.
“Considering 10 hours of work daily plus two hours of overtime, if an individual works 12 hours a day for six days a week, how much time is left for themselves or their family?” he asked.
Surjewala questioned whether this policy truly facilitates business or instead legitimizes modern-day slavery.
Vij informed the House that raising the employee threshold for registration and regulatory provisions from zero to 20 aims to ease compliance for smaller businesses, thereby fostering job creation and alleviating fears of non-compliance.
Businesses with fewer than 20 employees will no longer need a registration certificate under this Bill; they simply need to notify authorities of their operations, Vij explained.
Previously, registration was mandatory for all shopkeepers.
He noted that in states such as Karnataka, shopkeepers must still register even without any employees.
However, Surjewala contended that over 80% of shops and establishments with fewer than 20 employees would fall outside the Act’s provisions.
Vij clarified that the increase in daily working hours from nine to ten, including rest periods, is limited to a maximum of 48 hours weekly. This initiative is designed to boost economic activity, create employment opportunities, and allow businesses to respond flexibly to emergencies, peak demands, or staff shortages without interruption.
Before finalizing this Bill, Vij reviewed data from various states across India. In Haryana, registration has been mandated for establishments with 20 or more employees.
Similarly, in states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha, registration is enforced for establishments employing 20 or more workers.
In these states, daily working hours are also set at 10, as they are in Haryana.
This Bill was one of eight passed on the last day of the Winter session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.
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Other Bills included in the session were the Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Haryana Abadi Deh (Vesting, Recording and Resolving of Ownership Rights) Bill, 2025; and the Haryana Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025.
The Haryana Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill aims to amend specific laws to decriminalize and rationalize offences, enhancing trust-based governance for improved living and business conditions.
This Bill facilitates the reduction of 164 minor criminal provisions in 42 state Acts across 17 departments by eliminating obsolete and redundant clauses, implementing civil penalties and administrative actions for minor technical and procedural lapses, and decriminalizing minor offences through the removal of penal provisions.
