Trade License in Assam (2026): GMC Guwahati Online Licence, Municipal Board Fees, Documents and Renewal

Whether you are opening a pharmacy in Guwahati, a hardware store in Jorhat or a tea stall in a small town in Barpeta, Assam expects the local urban body to license your trade. This guide is for shop owners, small manufacturers, restaurant owners and service businesses. It covers who issues the licence, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation's online portal and its holding-number requirement, the trade-wise fee schedule for municipal boards, the documents, the 31 March renewal cycle and late fee, and how the licence connects to shop registration. All of it is checked against GMC, Sewa Setu and the state's Ease of Doing Business portal.

Quick answer

In Guwahati, apply on gmconline.in using the property owner's GMC holding number; GMC charges a ₹100 application fee plus a licence fee by trade, and every licence runs 1 April to 31 March. In other towns, apply to the municipal board through Sewa Setu / the EoDB portal; the fee depends on the trade and the town's population — for example ₹100–₹250 a year for a retail grocery.

• Renew every year after 31 March; GMC's late fee is 20% of the licence fee

• Documents: tenancy agreement, rent receipt, landlord's property tax receipt and your ID

• Health-related trades in Guwahati also need a police NOC and a GMC NOC

• Shop registration under the Assam Shops and Establishment Act is separate and needs a copy of the trade licence

What a trade licence is in Assam

A trade licence is the urban body's permission to carry on a particular trade or business at a particular address within its limits. It does not replace sector permissions — a food business still needs FSSAI registration, a pharmacy still needs a drug licence and a factory still needs its factory licence — but it is the local document every shop, office, workshop and godown in a town is expected to hold.

In practice it is also the document other offices ask for first. Banks want it to open a current account in the business's name. The Labour department wants a copy before it registers your shop under the Assam Shops and Establishment Act, 1971. Government buyers and contractors' registration desks ask for a current one, which is why GMC had to tell government agencies in April 2025 to accept licences that had lapsed during a software upgrade.

Assam has no single state-wide licence. You deal with one of three kinds of body, depending on where the premises are:

• Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) for the city of Guwahati;
• municipal boards — the state's fee schedule lists 100 of them, from Silchar and Dibrugarh down to Mahur — and town committees for the other towns;
• panchayats for rural areas, where your gram panchayat office will tell you what applies.

GMC trade licence in Guwahati

GMC runs its own trade licence system at gmconline.in. The portal says applications and renewals for financial year 2026-27 are open, and it gives four options: apply for a new licence, renew, download a licence, and surrender a licence.

The holding number comes first. GMC's instruction on the portal is plain: to get a new licence, the trader must have the property owner's GMC holding number — the property tax assessment number of the building. If the owner has never had the building assessed, the owner has to start the holding application before you can apply. This is the single biggest cause of delay for tenants in Guwahati, so ask your landlord for the holding number and the latest property tax receipt before you sign the lease.

Pick the right trade code. GMC classifies every licence under one of four codes:

The STL category is meant for very small establishments, and the 100 sq ft limit is strict — a grocery that grows into the next room moves to a general licence. The portal's trade code list then maps each trade name, such as pan shop or small grocery shop, to a numeric code that drives the fee.

What GMC charges. GMC's official page lists two amounts for every application: an application fee of ₹100 and a licence fee based on the type of business. The licence fee is calculated by the portal once you choose your trade code. A duplicate licence costs ₹200, and late renewal costs an extra 20% of the licence fee.

New GMC trade licence on gmconline.in

1. 1

   Get the holding number

   Ask the property owner for the GMC holding number and latest property tax receipt. Use the ward map linked on the portal if you are not sure which ward the premises fall in.

   Tip: No holding number? The owner must apply for property assessment first.

2. 2

   Start a new application

   Open gmconline.in → Apply for New Trade License and search the holding. Enter the trade name, choose the trade code (HTL, GTL, STL or ITL), and add your contact details.

   Open GMC Trade License Portal
3. 3

   Upload documents

   Upload the tenancy agreement, rent receipt and the landlord's property tax receipt, plus your ID. For a health trade, add the police NOC and the GMC NOC.

4. 4

   Pay the fees

   Pay the ₹100 application fee and the licence fee shown for your trade online.

5. 5

   Download the licence

   Once approved, download the licence from Download Trade License and display it at the premises. Keep the registration number — you need it every year to renew.

If the portal or payment fails, GMC's IT cell runs a helpline at 88110-07000 and an email address listed on the portal; quote your registered mobile number.

Trade licence fees for municipal boards outside Guwahati

For every other town, the Housing and Urban Affairs department publishes a single fee schedule on the state's Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) portal. Its Annexure-I sorts the municipal boards by their 2011 census population, and Annexure-II sets a fee for each of more than 350 trades in four population bands: up to 10,000; more than 10,000 up to 30,000; more than 30,000 up to 50,000; and above 50,000. A bigger town pays more for the same trade.

The schedule carries no date on its face, so treat it as the published reference and confirm the figure the portal calculates before you pay. If you apply through a Public Facilitation Centre (PFC) or Common Service Centre (CSC), add a ₹30 service charge, ₹10 a page for printing and ₹5 a page for scanning.

Worked examples in ₹

A grocery in Silchar. Silchar Municipal Board had 1,72,830 people in 2011, so it is in the top band. A retail grocery pays ₹250 a year. Filed through a CSC with four pages scanned, the owner pays ₹250 + ₹30 + ₹20 = ₹300 in the first year.

A restaurant in Rangia. Rangia's 2011 population of 27,889 places it in the 10,001–30,000 band, so a restaurant with food service pays ₹200 a year. If the owner also sells sweets from a separate counter, that may be a second trade line — ask the board whether it wants one licence with two trades or two licences.

A pharmacy and a warehouse in Tezpur. Tezpur (58,559) is also in the top band. A retail allopathic pharmacy pays ₹300 and a separate warehouse on the town's edge pays ₹2,000 — ₹2,300 a year for both, before the drug licence, which is a separate state permission.

Assam trade licence at a glance

₹100

GMC application fee

20% of the licence fee

GMC late renewal fee

1 Apr – 31 Mar

Validity of every GMC licence

₹100–₹250

Retail grocery, municipal boards

by town population

How to apply to a municipal board online

Municipal-board licences are applied for through Sewa Setu, the state's citizen-services portal, which hands you over to the EoDB portal for the actual form. The service is listed under Housing and Urban Affairs as Application for Trade Licence.

Register with your full name, mobile number, state and a password (email is optional), log in, open Apply Online and pick the trade licence service. Read the requirements tab, fill in the form and upload your documents. You pay on final submission; the application then goes to the board's officials, and you receive an acknowledgement with a reference number by SMS and email. When the licence is approved, you are told by SMS and email and you download it from the ARTPS portal — Assam's Right to Public Services system, which also lets you track status.

The board asks for two kinds of document: proof of ownership or occupancy — a building permit, occupancy certificate, jamabandi copy, or a lease or rent agreement for the property — and proof of identity — driving licence, passport, PAN card, voter ID, Aadhaar or ration card. That is less paperwork than GMC asks for, but the name on the property document has to make sense: if the jamabandi is in your father's name, attach a consent letter or a rent agreement from him.

Documents to keep ready

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• Identity proof: Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, passport, driving licence or ration card
• Own property: building permit, occupancy certificate or jamabandi copy
• Rented property: tenancy or rent agreement (notarised for GMC's veterinary licence) and latest rent receipt
• Landlord's up-to-date property tax receipt — in Guwahati, the GMC holding number
• Partnership deed for a firm; registration certificate and PAN for a company, firm or society
• Health trades in Guwahati: police NOC and GMC NOC
• For renewal: a copy of the current licence or its registration number

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Renewal, late fees and enforcement

Guwahati. Every GMC licence expires on 31 March, whenever it was issued. Renew on gmconline.in with your old registration number, or with the paper form from the GMC office. GMC adds a late fee of 20% of the licence fee if you renew after the due date.

Renewal compliance is a live issue. In July 2026 The Sentinel reported that about 42,000 of GMC's roughly 65,000 registered traders had not renewed three months after their licences expired, and that the corporation planned to check every shop's licence and act against defaulters. GMC's own page invites citizens to complain about unlicensed businesses to the zonal Deputy Commissioner, so a lapsed licence can be reported by a competitor or a neighbour.

Municipal boards. Use Auto Renewal of Trade Licence on Sewa Setu. The only supporting document is a copy of the licence you are renewing, and the fee is again set by the town's population band.

What happened in April 2025. When GMC upgraded its software at the start of 2025-26, the Commissioner asked government and private agencies to accept licences valid up to 31 March 2025 as current, provided traders produced renewed licences in the first week of May 2025. It is a reminder to renew early in April: if the system goes down, you want a receipt in hand before a bank or tender desk asks.

Changing, moving or closing a licensed business

A trade licence describes one trade at one set of premises, held by one person or firm. When any of those three things changes, the licence has to change with it. Moving the shop to a new building in Guwahati means a new holding number, so expect to apply afresh rather than edit the old licence. Adding a clearly different line of business — a grocery that starts a pharmacy counter, a tailor who opens a cloth showroom — usually means a second trade entry and a second fee from the schedule, because the fee is set trade by trade.

Changes in ownership are where traders most often slip. If a proprietor takes in a partner or turns the shop into a company, the licence should be in the name of the new entity, with the partnership deed or registration certificate uploaded. Banks and tender desks check that the name on the licence matches the name on the account or bid.

When you close down, use the Tradelicense Surrender option on gmconline.in or write to your municipal board. A surrendered licence stops future renewal demands and gives you a record that the business ended on a particular date, which matters if a late fee or inspection notice turns up a year later. Keep the surrender acknowledgement with your closing accounts.

Trade licence and shop registration: two different documents

Many traders assume the trade licence covers everything. It does not. Registration under the Assam Shops and Establishment Act, 1971 is a Labour department registration, and Sewa Setu offers a Common Application for Trade Licence cum Registration of Establishment for it. That service asks for a copy of the trade licence issued by the local authority, the partnership deed for a firm, and the appointment letters of every employee. The stated time limit is 15 working days from a complete application.

Trade licence vs shop registration in Assam

	Trade licence	Shops & Establishment registration
Issued by	GMC or the municipal board	Labour department
Based on	Trade and premises	Number of employees and type of establishment
Fee	By trade and town size; GMC adds ₹100	₹100 self-employed small shop; ₹300 no employees; ₹1,000 for 1–3 employees
Renewal	Every financial year	Notice of change (₹50) when details change
Prerequisite	Holding number / property documents	A copy of the trade licence

Issued by

Trade licence

GMC or the municipal board

Shops & Establishment registration

Labour department

Based on

Trade licence

Trade and premises

Shops & Establishment registration

Number of employees and type of establishment

Fee

Trade licence

By trade and town size; GMC adds ₹100

Shops & Establishment registration

₹100 self-employed small shop; ₹300 no employees; ₹1,000 for 1–3 employees

Renewal

Trade licence

Every financial year

Shops & Establishment registration

Notice of change (₹50) when details change

Prerequisite

Trade licence

Holding number / property documents

Shops & Establishment registration

A copy of the trade licence

Registration fees under the Shops Act climb with headcount — ₹2,000 for a shop with four to nine employees and up to ₹20,000 for 51 or more — with separate tables for jewellery shops, commercial establishments, hotels, cinemas and amusement parks.

Common mistakes and how they get fixed

Signing a lease before checking the holding number. In Guwahati, a building without a GMC holding cannot carry a trade licence. Make the holding number and an up-to-date property tax receipt a condition of the lease.

Choosing the wrong trade code. A shop that sells groceries from 150 sq ft cannot use the small-shop STL category, and a clinic cannot hold a general licence. A wrong code means a wrong fee and, at inspection, a demand to re-apply. Check the trade code list before you submit.

Starting a health trade without NOCs. For any health-related trade, GMC wants the police NOC and the GMC NOC before it issues the licence. Apply for both first.

Treating the licence as permanent. It runs only to 31 March. Calendar the renewal for the first week of April and keep the payment receipt.

One licence for two premises. A shop and a godown at different addresses usually need separate licences — the fee schedule has its own lines for godowns and warehouses.

Losing the licence. Download it again from the portal, or apply to the zonal DC with an affidavit and address proof for a ₹200 duplicate.

What else a new business in Assam usually needs

The trade licence is the local permission; a few others normally follow. Register for GST when your turnover crosses the threshold or you sell across states, take free Udyam registration to qualify for MSME benefits, register under the Shops and Establishment Act once you hire, and check Assam's professional tax rules in our state-wise professional tax guide. Food businesses need FSSAI registration before the GMC health licence makes sense.

Official links

• GMC Trade License PortalNew licence, renewal, download, surrender
• GMC — trade licence codes
• GMC — Online Trade License System (documents and fees)
• Sewa Setu — Application for Trade Licence (municipal boards)
• Sewa Setu — Auto Renewal of Trade Licence
• Trade licence fee schedule by town population (PDF)
• Sewa Setu — Trade licence cum Shops & Establishment registration

What to do next

Get the holding number or property papers, look up your trade in the fee schedule, and apply before you open — then put 1 April in your calendar for every year after. Use our startup cost calculator to budget licence and registration fees alongside rent, and our free invoice generator for your first bills. Expanding into Bengal? Read the guide to the trade licence in West Bengal.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do I apply for a GMC trade licence online?

Go to gmconline.in, choose Apply for New Trade License and search your premises by the owner's GMC holding number. Fill in the trade details, pick the trade code, upload the tenancy agreement, rent receipt and landlord's property tax receipt, and pay online. GMC charges an application fee of ₹100 plus a licence fee that depends on your type of business.

What is the trade licence fee in Assam?

Outside Guwahati, the fee depends on the trade and the town's population. Under the schedule published on the Assam EoDB portal, a retail grocery pays ₹100–₹250 a year, a general merchant ₹200–₹400 and a restaurant ₹150–₹400. In Guwahati, GMC adds a ₹100 application fee to a licence fee set by trade category.

When does a GMC trade licence expire?

Every GMC trade licence is valid for one financial year, from 1 April to 31 March, whatever date it was issued. Renew it each year after paying the renewal fee. GMC charges a late fee of 20% of the licence fee if you renew late, and it ran a drive against traders who had not renewed in 2026.

What documents are needed for a trade licence in Assam?

For Guwahati: a tenancy agreement, rent receipt and the landlord's GMC property tax receipt, plus your ID. Health-related trades also need a police NOC and a GMC NOC. Municipal boards ask for proof of ownership or occupancy — building permit, occupancy certificate, jamabandi copy, lease or rent agreement — and an identity proof such as Aadhaar, PAN or voter ID.

Is a trade licence the same as shop registration in Assam?

No. The trade licence comes from GMC or your municipal board. Registration under the Assam Shops and Establishment Act, 1971 comes from the Labour department, and its common application on Sewa Setu asks for a copy of your trade licence. Fees run from ₹100 for a self-employed small shop to ₹1,000 for a shop with one to three employees.

How do I get a duplicate GMC trade licence?

Apply to the Deputy Commissioner of your GMC zone with an affidavit and address proof. GMC charges ₹200 for a duplicate licence. If you hold a licence issued on the online portal, you can also download it again from the Download Trade License option on gmconline.in.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 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.Online Trade License System — Guwahati Municipal Corporation — Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Government of Assam · accessed 9 October 2026
2. 2.GMC Trade License Portal — Guwahati Municipal Corporation · accessed 9 October 2026
3. 3.Trade License Codes — GMC Trade License Portal — Guwahati Municipal Corporation · accessed 9 October 2026
4. 4.Notification GCC/SD/136/2025/01 — Trade License system under maintenance (April 2025) — Commissioner, Guwahati Municipal Corporation · accessed 9 October 2026
5. 5.Application for Trade Licence (Housing and Urban Affairs) — Sewa Setu, Government of Assam · accessed 9 October 2026
6. 6.Trade License Fee on the basis of population of ULBs (Annexure I and II) — Ease of Doing Business portal, Government of Assam · accessed 9 October 2026
7. 7.Auto Renewal of Trade Licence — Sewa Setu, Government of Assam · accessed 9 October 2026
8. 8.Trade License related to Veterinary — Sewa Setu, Government of Assam · accessed 9 October 2026
9. 9.Common Application for Trade Licence cum Registration of Establishment under the Assam Shops and Establishment Act, 1971 — Sewa Setu, Government of Assam · accessed 9 October 2026
10. 10.GMC to launch crackdown as 42,000 traders fail to renew trade licences — The Sentinel (Assam) · accessed 9 October 2026