Section2
The Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948

Section 2

In force Act 79 of 1948 As on 05 Oct 2026

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so the text below was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Act 79 of 1948 Cited by 1 provision

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so this text was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Section 2 of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,- Definitions.

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,- Definitions.

(1) "Apprentice" means a person who is employed, whether on payment of wages or not, for the purpose of being trained, in any trade, craft or employment in any establishment; 5(2) "Child" means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year;] 6 of 53 6 [(3) "Closed" means not open for the service of any customer, or for any business of the establishment, or for work, by or with the help of any employee, of or connected with the establishment; ] (4) "Commercial establishment" means an establishment which carries on any business, trade or profession or any work in connection with, or incidental or ancillary to, any business, trade or profession and includes a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and a charitable or other trust, whether registered or not, which carries on, "[whether for purposes of gain or not,] any business, trade or profession or work in connection with or incidental or ancillary thereto but does not include a factory, shop, residential hotel, restaurant, eating house, theatre or other place of public amusement of entertainment; XXI of 1860.

(5) "Day" means the period of twenty-four hours beginning at midnight :

Provided that in the case of an employee whose hours of work extend beyond midnight, day means the period of twenty-four hours beginning when such employment commences irrespective of midnight; 8[(6) "Employee" means a person wholly or principally employed, whether directly or through any agency and whether for wages or other consideration, in or in connection with any establishment; and includes an apprentice but does not include a member of the employer's family;] (7) "Employer" means a person owning or having ultimate controls over the affairs of an establishment;

(8) "Establishment" means a shop, commercial establishment, residential hotel, restaurant, eating house, theatre or other place of public amusement or entertainment to which this Act applies and includes such other establishment as the 9[State] Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be an establishment for the purposes of this Act;

(9) "Factory" means any premises which is a factory within the meaning of 10[clause (m) of section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948, or which is deemed to be a factory under section 85 of the said Act]; LXIII of 1948.

(10) "Goods" includes all materials, commodities and articles;

(11) "Holiday" means a day on which an establishment shall remain closed or on which an employee shall be given a holiday under the provisions of this Act;

(12) "Inspector" means an Inspector appointed under section 48;

(13) "Leave" means leave provided for in CHAPTER- VII of this Act;

(14) "Local area" means any area or combination of areas to which this Act Applies; 11[(15) "Local Authority" means- - (i) a municipal corporation constituted under the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949; Bom. LIX of 1949. 12[(ii) a municipality constituted under the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963; or Guj. 34 of 1964.

(iii) a district Panchayat constituted under the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1961;] and includes any other body which the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a local authority for the purposes of this Act; ] Guj. 6 of 1962.

(16) "Manager" means a person declared to be a manager under section 7;

(17) "Member of the family of an employer" means the husband, wife, son, 7 of 53 daughter, father, mother, brother or sister of an employer who lives with and is dependant on such employer; 13[(18) "Opened" means opened for the service of any customer, or for any business of the establishment, or for work, by or with the help of any employee, of or connected with the establishment;] (19) "Period of work" means the time during which an employee is at the disposal of the employer ;

(20) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;

(21) "Prescribed authority" means the authority prescribed under the rules made, under this Act ; (22)"Register of establishments" means a register maintained for the registration of establishements under this Act ;

(23) "Registration certificate" means a certificate showing the registration of an establishment 14[granted or renewed under section 7];

(24) "Residential hotel" means any premises used for the reception of guests and travellers desirous of dwelling or sleeping therein and includes a 15[residential club];

(25) "Restaurant or eating house" means any premises in which is carried on wholly or principally the business of the supply meals or refreshments to the public or a class of the public for consumption on the premises;

(26) "Schedule" means a Schedule appended to this Act ;

(27) "Shop" means any premises where goods are sold, either by retail or wholesale or where services are rendered to customers, and includes an office, a store room, godown, warehouse or work place, whether in the same premises or otherwise, 16[ mainly used] in connection with such trade or business but does not include a factory, a commercial establishment, residential hotel, restaurant, eating house, theatre or other place of public amusement or entertainment ;

(28) "Spread-over" means the period between the commencement and the termination of the work of an employee on any day ;

(29) "Theatre" includes any premises intended principally or wholly for the exhibition of pictures or other optical effects by means of a cinematograph or other suitable apparatus or for dramatic performances or for any other public amusement or entertainment ;

(30) "Wages" means wages as defined in the Payment of Wages Act, 1936;

(31) "Week" means the period of seven days beginning at midnight of Saturday ; 17[ (32) "Year" means a year commencing on the first day of January; ] (33) "Young person" means a person who is not a child and has not completed his seventeenth year.

Section 2, The Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948 (Act 79 of 1948).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 7
  2. Factories Act s. 2

Referred to by 1

  1. s. 67

Questions about Section 2

How do I find court cases under Section 2 of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Bombay Shops and Establishments Act 2, section 2 Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, section 2 of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.

What should I read with Section 2 of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 7, Factories Act 2, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it.

When was the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act enacted?

Bombay Shops and Establishments Act was enacted in 1948 as Act 79 of 1948. India Code records no commencement date for it. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Read from the Government's own scanned gazette with Azure Document Intelligence, then split into sections by their numbering. India Code publishes no text for this Act. The scan itself is mirrored into our own storage and served at /scan/f65c3339-02cb-49e5-8e49-19643d22c18e.pdf, so the reading here can be checked against the page it came from without depending on India Code's own copy staying where it is (it was at https://indiacode.gov.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/2620026a-5270-49c4-9e15-aa1dfddd6e8c/content). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.