Haryana Vidhan Sabha approves Shops Amendment Bill 2025 to boost economic growth, protect workers, and streamline small business rules.

The Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was passed by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha , according to Haryana Labour Minister Anil Vij. The bill’s reforms will ease the compliance burden on smaller businesses while maintaining worker protection and fostering economic growth. He claimed that this bill is in the best interests of both retailers and employees.
The Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was introduced by Vij and approved by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha .

He stated that in order to lessen the burden of compliance for smaller firms, promote job creation, and dispel the fear of non-compliance, the threshold limit for registration and other regulatory provisions of the Bill should be raised from zero employees to twenty or more employees in any facility. Under the measure, establishments with fewer than 20 employees will no longer require a registration certificate; instead, they will simply need to submit an announcement about their business. In the past, all store owners had to register. He emphasized that retailers still needed to register even if they don’t employ anyone in areas like Karnataka.

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He claimed to have examined data from Indian states before completing this bill. In Haryana, businesses employing 20 people or more are required to register. Similarly, establishments with 20 or more employees are required to register in Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. Similarly, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha also have 10 hours of work every day. The largest amount of overtime allowed in the nation is 156 hours in Haryana, compared to 144 hours in Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha, 125 hours in Uttar Pradesh, 72 hours in Tamil Nadu, and 50 hours in Karnataka. In a similar vein, Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha all have six-hour rest periods.

The Labour Minister asserted that the current nine-hour workday should be extended to ten hours, including rest periods, with a weekly cap of 48 hours. Increased economic activity, improved job possibilities, and the ability for businesses to manage staff shortages, peak demand, and emergencies without disruption are the goals of this metric.

In a similar vein, Vij stated that the overtime period should be extended from 50 to 156 hours every quarter. This will allow companies to employ people for longer periods of time each quarter in order to handle unusually high levels of work pressure. By formalizing overtime procedures and increasing workers’ earning potential, this reform will help minimize worker exploitation by guaranteeing that all extra hours are appropriately documented and paid. However, employees will not be required to work overtime.

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Vij claimed that by requiring identity cards and appointment letters, the labor market has become more formalized. Verified employment records, skill mapping, improved welfare delivery, greater transparency, improved retention, and an easier way of life are all going to result from this transition. Decriminalization and the imposition of simply a fine, which has been raised to 25,000 rupees, in lieu of incarceration as punishment for violating the Bill will prevent its enforcement from being weakened. This will guarantee that the rights of both establishments and employees are maintained in a harmonious balance. He went on to say that anyone who breaks the law would face consequences, and that repeated infractions will also be taken very harshly.