Gumasta License in Chhattisgarh (2026): The 2017 Shops Act, Labour Identification Number, Fees and Working Rules

In Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg-Bhilai, Korba or Jagdalpur, a shop's "gumasta license" was for decades a registration under the old Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments Act, 1958, issued by the municipal body for a fee of a few hundred rupees. That system ended on 13 February 2025. A new law now covers only establishments with ten or more workers, registration has moved to the Labour Department, and the certificate is a Labour Identification Number (LIN) issued online, since June 2026 within a day. This guide explains who still needs a "gumasta", what it costs, how to apply, the hours, leave and holiday rules that come with it, and what to do if you are below the threshold.

Quick answer

Since 13 February 2025, the Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017 applies to shops and establishments employing 10 or more workers. They must apply online within six months and get a Labour Identification Number certificate, issued within 24 hours under the June 2026 rules. Shops with fewer than ten workers need no gumasta registration at all.

• Reported fee: ₹1,000 to ₹10,000 by headcount; amendments ₹100

• Up to 9 hours a day and 48 a week; overtime capped at 125 hours in three months

• 24x7 opening allowed if each worker gets a weekly day off

• Fines up to up to ₹2 lakh; offences can be compounded

From gumasta licence to Labour Identification Number

Chhattisgarh inherited the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act, 1958 in 2000 and renamed it the Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments Act, 1958. Under it, every shop and establishment in an urban body's area, including one run by the owner alone, had to register. "Gumasta", the old word for a shop assistant or clerk, gave the registration its popular name. By a 2019 amendment to the 1959 rules, the certificate stayed valid until the establishment closed and the fee was ₹100 for an establishment with no employees, ₹150 for up to three, ₹200 for four to nine and ₹250 for ten or more.

The State passed a new law modelled on the Centre's 2016 model shops bill: the Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017, Chhattisgarh Act No. 21 of 2018. Rules under it were notified in February 2022, but the Act itself was brought into force only by notification No. F-10-12/2017/16/434 dated 13 February 2025, which also repealed the 1958 Act while saving actions taken under it. The rules were then amended on 3 June 2026 to speed up the certificate.

Three things changed for owners. The Act now applies throughout the State, not only in urban bodies. It covers only establishments with ten or more workers. And registration is handled by the Labour Department's officers, now called facilitators, rather than by municipal bodies. A gumasta certificate issued under the old Act is no longer the document the law asks for; a covered establishment needs a LIN certificate under the new Act.

If you already hold an old gumasta certificate

Thousands of Chhattisgarh shops hold certificates from their municipal corporation or council under the 1958 Act. What you do now depends on your headcount. With ten or more workers, apply for a LIN under the 2017 Act; if you are already registered with ESIC or EPFO, you are treated as registered but must still obtain the LIN. With fewer than ten, the old certificate has no continuing legal role and there is nothing to renew or replace. Keep it on file as historical proof of when the business started, since banks and landlords sometimes ask for that, but do not pay anyone to "renew" it.

Who needs to register now

Ten or more workers. Section 1(3) applies the Act to shops and establishments employing ten or more workers. "Worker" is defined widely: anyone other than an apprentice employed for hire or reward to do manual, clerical, technical or similar work, so count part-time, contract and agency staff who work at your premises.

Exclusions. Section 3 keeps some people and places outside parts of the Act, including workers in confidential, managerial or supervisory positions, government and Reserve Bank offices, certain care institutions and members of the employer's family. The managerial exclusion matters when you count: a list of excluded managerial and supervisory workers must be displayed.

Below ten. A shop with fewer than ten workers has no registration duty under the 2017 Act, and the 1958 Act that once required it is gone. That does not free it from everything. It still needs any municipal trade licence its urban body requires, GST registration above the threshold, FSSAI registration for food, and it must pay at least the Chhattisgarh minimum wages under the Code on Wages. Many banks still ask for a "shop act" document; a small shop can offer its Udyam, GST or trade licence instead.

Already registered under ESI or EPF. Section 5(4) treats an establishment already registered under the ESI Act or the EPF Act as registered, but it must still obtain a LIN within six months. Press reports of the State's announcement said existing registered shops would get their LIN at no extra fee within that period.

The OSH Code too. The OSH Code, in force since 21 November 2025, requires establishments with 10 or more workers to register under its section 3. The thresholds line up with the shops law, but we found no Chhattisgarh notification, as of October 2026, that treats one registration as covering the other. Keep the LIN and watch the Labour Department portal for an OSH registration service.

Chhattisgarh shops law at a glance (2026)

10+

Workers covered

below 10: no registration

six months

To apply for a LIN

from starting business

24 hours

Certificate issued within

rules amended June 2026

125 hours in three months

Overtime cap

paid at double rate

Fees: what we could and could not verify

When the Act came into force, the State's announcement, reported by PTI and Hindi newspapers, put the new registration fee at ₹1,000 to ₹10,000 depending on the number of employees, against ₹100 to ₹250 under the old rules. We could not find the official slab table in the 2021 Rules or on the Labour Department's portal, and the slab tables on private filing websites do not cite a source. So we have not reproduced any slab-by-slab figures. The portal calculates the fee when you apply; pay only the amount it generates, through the e-challan under revenue head 0203 Labour and Employment.

The amendment fee is official: rule 5 as substituted on 3 June 2026 charges ₹100 by e-challan for changes in the employer's or partners' name and address, the number of workers, the address of the establishment or the nature of work.

Agents typically add their own service charge for filing. The application is simple enough to file yourself.

How to get the LIN certificate

The Labour Department runs its services on the Shramev Jayate portal, which lists the shops and establishments registration among its ease-of-doing-business services.

LIN registration in Chhattisgarh, step by step

1. 1

   Count your workers

   Ten or more, including contract and part-time staff but leaving out excluded managerial and supervisory staff: register. Fewer than ten: no registration under the shops law.

2. 2

   Log in to the Labour Department portal

   Create an employer login on Shramev Jayate and open the shops and establishments registration service.

   Open Shramev Jayate EoDB services
3. 3

   Fill in the application

   Name, full address, email and phone; nature of business; private or public; type of organisation; date of starting; ESI or EPF registration; employer and manager; head office; workers by category (regular, contract, part-time, apprentices), women and men; weekly holiday.

4. 4

   Upload documents and pay

   Upload the documents the portal asks for and pay the fee through e-challan under head 0203.

5. 5

   Download the certificate

   The LIN registration certificate in Form-2 is issued through the portal within 24 hours, on the basis of your self-declaration, with no physical signature.

   Tip: Display it, with the establishment's name, at a conspicuous place where it can be read easily.

The June 2026 amendment makes the system information-based. The certificate is generated on the strength of what you declare, rule 4(4) makes the employer fully responsible for incorrect or misleading information, and the certificate itself says it gives no right to claim any property, shop or name. Keep the documents behind every particular you declare.

Documents to keep ready

• PAN and identity proof of the proprietor, partners or directors
• Proof of the premises: rent or lease agreement, ownership deed or utility bill
• Partnership deed, LLP agreement or certificate of incorporation, where relevant
• ESI and EPF registration numbers, if any
• A list of workers by category, with women and men shown separately
• The weekly holiday you have fixed for each worker

Changes, annual return and records

Changes in the registered particulars go online in Form-4 with the ₹100 fee, and the amended LIN certificate is issued within 24 hours. Update the certificate when your headcount changes significantly, when you move, or when the employer changes.

The 2021 Rules require an annual return in Form-14 on the Labour Department portal, covering January to December, within forty-five days after the year ends, which is how the State's announcement arrived at a 15 February deadline. Employers must keep records of their workers electronically. The portal also offers an integrated return across labour laws, but check that it covers the shops return before relying on it.

Hours, overtime, 24x7 trading and women at night

Hours. Section 8 limits an adult worker to 48 hours a week and 9 hours a day, with a break of at least half an hour after every five hours. The working day including breaks may not spread over more than 10.5 hours, or twelve hours for intermittent or urgent work.

Overtime. Work beyond nine hours a day or 48 a week is overtime, capped at 125 hours in three months, and section 9 requires it to be paid at twice the ordinary wage rate. That matches the Code on Wages rule of twice the normal rate of wages in force since 21 November 2025.

Weekly holiday and 24x7. Every worker gets a paid weekly holiday of at least 24 consecutive hours. If a weekly holiday is denied, compensatory leave must be given within two months, and work on the rest day is paid at twice the ordinary rate. Because the Act no longer imposes a common closing day or fixed shop hours, establishments can stay open all day, every day, by staggering staff days off, which was the headline of the State's 2025 announcement.

Women at night. Section 6(2) allows women to work only between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. unless the State, by notification, permits night work with the woman's consent and with facilities such as shelter, rest rooms, a night creche, ladies' toilets, protection from harassment and transport to her door. The Labour Department lists a notification on permission for women to work at night among its services; read its conditions before rostering women after 9 p.m.

Leave, holidays and welfare

Section 11 gives every worker 8 days of paid casual leave a calendar year, credited quarterly. A worker who worked 240 days or more in the previous calendar year earns one day of leave for every twenty days worked, which can accumulate up to 45 days; if leave applied for fifteen days in advance is refused, the worker can encash leave beyond that limit. Each worker is also entitled to 8 days of paid festival holidays a year: Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti, plus five others agreed in advance.

The Act's welfare chapter requires drinking water, separate toilets for women and men, first aid, and, for larger establishments, a creche and a canteen. Small premises in a shared building may use common facilities.

Worked example: a Raipur restaurant

Sahu Dhaba opens on the Raipur–Bilaspur road on 1 November with nine cooks and servers, two part-time cleaners and a cashier, twelve workers in all, and plans to stay open until 2 a.m.

Registration. With twelve workers, the 2017 Act applies. The owner applies on the Labour Department portal, pays the fee the portal calculates (somewhere in the reported ₹1,000 to ₹10,000 range), and downloads the LIN certificate the next day. When he adds three servers in the wedding season he files Form-4 with the ₹100 fee.

Hours and overtime. Late opening is allowed, but each worker needs a weekly day off and no more than 10.5 hours of spread-over. A server who works 54 hours in a busy week has six hours of overtime. On Zone A's unskilled minimum of ₹11,534.48 a month (₹444 a day), an eight-hour base gives about ₹55.50 an hour, so six hours at twice the rate cost about ₹666. Women servers cannot work after 9 p.m. unless the night-work notification's conditions are met.

Other compliance. He also needs FSSAI registration or licence, ESIC at 10 or more employees for staff within the wage ceiling, an Internal Committee under the POSH Act at 10 or more employees, and GST registration if turnover crosses the limit.

Penalties and compounding

The 2017 Act replaced the old small fines with much larger ones. Contravening the Act or rules attracts a fine of up to ₹2 lakh, plus up to ₹2,000 a day for a continuing contravention, and a repeat conviction for the same provision ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh. A contravention that causes an accident with serious injury or death can lead to imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh, or both. Obstructing a facilitator or refusing records also carries a fine of up to ₹2 lakh.

Prosecution needs a complaint by the facilitator within three months of the offence coming to his notice. Most offences can be compounded by a notified gazetted officer for half of the maximum fine, but not a repeat of the same offence within five years.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Renewing an old gumasta certificate. The 1958 Act is repealed. Fix: if you have ten or more workers, get a LIN under the 2017 Act; if not, stop paying for renewals.

Counting only permanent staff. Fix: include part-time, contract and agency workers, and leave out only genuinely managerial or supervisory staff.

Assuming 24x7 means no days off. Fix: give each worker 24 consecutive hours off a week and record it.

Missing the annual return. Fix: file Form-14 online within forty-five days of 31 December.

Official links

• Shramev Jayate — Labour Department, ChhattisgarhShops registration and notifications
• Old 1959 rules amendment of 2019 (PDF)Previous gumasta fee and validity
• Labour Department portal homeLogin, minimum wages, notifications

What to do next

Count your workers. At ten or more, get your LIN certificate online, display it, fix each worker's weekly holiday and set up registers for hours, overtime and leave; diarise the Form-14 return for February. Below ten, keep your trade licence, GST and Udyam papers in order instead. Check pay against the Chhattisgarh minimum wages, use our salary slip generator to itemise overtime, and the hourly rate calculator for the double rate. If you also trade in Madhya Pradesh, see the MP shop act guide.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

Is a gumasta license still required in Chhattisgarh?

Only for shops and establishments employing 10 or more workers. Since 13 February 2025, the Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017 has replaced the 1958 Act under which municipal bodies issued gumasta registrations. Covered establishments now register with the Labour Department and receive a Labour Identification Number (LIN) certificate.

Does a shop with fewer than 10 workers need registration in Chhattisgarh?

Not under the shops law. The 2017 Act applies only to establishments with ten or more workers, so smaller shops have no gumasta or LIN registration duty. They still need any municipal trade licence, GST registration above the threshold, FSSAI registration for food and other sector licences, and they must pay minimum wages under the Code on Wages.

What is the gumasta license fee in Chhattisgarh?

Press reports of the new rules put the registration fee at ₹1,000 to ₹10,000 depending on the number of employees, up from ₹100 to ₹250 under the old rules. We could not find the official slab table, so check the amount on the Labour Department portal before paying. Amendments cost ₹100.

How long does it take to get the LIN registration certificate?

Under rule 4 of the 2021 Rules as substituted on 3 June 2026, the Labour Identification Number registration certificate is issued through the web portal within 24 hours of receiving the online application, documents and e-challan fee. An amended certificate is also issued within 24 hours.

Can shops stay open 24x7 in Chhattisgarh?

Yes. The 2017 Act removed the old compulsory weekly closing day, so establishments can open round the clock, provided every worker gets a weekly holiday of at least 24 consecutive hours and the limits on daily hours, spread-over and overtime are respected. Women can work at night only on the conditions the State notifies.

What leave must a Chhattisgarh shop give employees?

The 2017 Act gives 8 days of paid casual leave a year, one day of earned leave for every 20 days worked by workers with 240 days in the previous year, accumulating up to 45 days, and 8 days of paid festival holidays, including Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 13 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Chhattisgarh Labour Department — notification No. F 10-5/2019/16 of 5 August 2019 amending the Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments Rules, 1959 — Labour Department, Government of Chhattisgarh · accessed 13 October 2026
2. 2.Shramev Jayate — EoDB services of the Labour Department — Labour Department, Government of Chhattisgarh · accessed 13 October 2026
3. 3.Chhattisgarh notification No. RULE-8/65/2026-LABOUR of 3 June 2026 amending the Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2021 — Labour Department, Chhattisgarh (gazette copy via Simpliance) · accessed 13 October 2026
4. 4.The Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017 — LegitQuest (Act text) · accessed 13 October 2026
5. 5.Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments Act, 2017 is now effective — AscentHR · accessed 13 October 2026
6. 6.Chhattisgarh enforces new law allowing greater flexibility for shop operations — PTI via The Week · accessed 13 October 2026
7. 7.New Shop and Establishment Act implemented in Chhattisgarh — Amar Ujala · accessed 13 October 2026
8. 8.Chhattisgarh Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2021 — TeamLease RegTech · accessed 13 October 2026