The Governor of Haryana has promulgated the Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, due to the Legislature not being in session. The amendments significantly revise employer obligations, working hour limits, registration requirements and penalties under the 1958 Act.

The Ordinance introduces extensive reforms across multiple sections of the Act. First, the scope of applicability is reorganised by introducing a new sub-section under Section 1, which states that all provisions except Section 13A apply only to shops and establishments employing twenty or more workers, whereas Section 13A is dedicated exclusively to establishments with fewer than twenty workers. This effectively creates two compliance categories and ensures more intensive regulation of larger establishments.

Working conditions have been materially revised. The maximum daily working hours in Section 7(1) are increased from nine to ten, and the overtime limit in Section 7(2)(a) has been drastically raised from fifty to one hundred fifty-six hours. Section 8 is amended to extend the maximum number of continuous working hours from five to six, thereby altering permissible work cycles and rest intervals.

A major overhaul comes through the complete substitution of Section 13. The new section mandates that every establishment employing twenty or more workers must apply online for registration within one month of commencing business, furnishing detailed particulars such as employer and manager information, GPS-based location, number of employees, nature of business, and other prescribed details. Inspectors are required to verify the information and issue an online registration certificate within timelines prescribed under the Haryana Right to Service Act. The certificate remains valid unless amended or cancelled, and employers must report any change in submitted particulars within seven days. Certain changes—such as name of establishment, employer, manager, or workforce details—require issuance of an amended certificate, for which no fee is charged. Employers must also notify closure of business within thirty days for deregistration. Non-compliance attracts structured penalties ranging from ₹3,000 to ₹10,000 for the first offence, ₹5,000 to ₹25,000 for the second offence, and ₹500 per day for continuing violations.

A new Section 13A has been inserted to create a lighter-touch compliance mechanism for establishments with fewer than twenty workers. Such employers are required only to submit an online intimation within one month of commencement, and they receive a Basic Information Performa ID.

Several enforcement-related provisions have also been amended. Section 19 now replaces references to the Indian Penal Code with corresponding provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Section 20 is strengthened to impose a daily penalty of up to ₹500 for non-compliance with record-keeping requirements and imposes higher penalties—including ₹3,000 to ₹10,000 for first violations and ₹5,000 to ₹25,000 for second violations—where employers falsify records or omit required entries, with an additional daily fine for ongoing breaches.

Two new employer obligations are introduced through Sections 20A and 20B. All employers must issue appointment letters with employee photographs and must also provide identity cards containing prescribed particulars to every worker. Section 21 is amended to raise penalties for obstructing inspecting authorities or preventing employees from appearing before them, now punishable between ₹3,000 and ₹10,000. Finally, Section 26 is replaced with a comprehensive general penalty clause, establishing a uniform structure of ₹3,000 to ₹10,000 for first offences, ₹5,000 to ₹25,000 for second offences, and ₹500 per day for continuing violations, unless a specific penalty is otherwise provided.