Curbs Remain On Liquor Shops, Pubs As Maharashtra Allows 24x7 Business
Shops and Establishments to remain open round the clock in Maharashtra
Maharashtra notified rules allowing businesses to stay open round the clock but will continue restrictions on outlets that serve and sell alcohol.
The state’s Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Service Condition) Act 2017, passed in August and notified after the governor’s nod, is modelled on a central law. It paves the way for pharmacies, shopping malls, restaurants, and banks to provide 24x7 services, particularly in larger cities like Mumbai. Yet, there will be time restrictions on liquor shops, pubs, and discotheques, according to the notification.
“This will help only during the festive season. That's when people venture out in the night. We have noticed that customers usually don't come really late in the evening for shopping,” Anupam T, vice-president at Oberoi Mall, told BloombergQuint in an interaction. “We would have loved bars and restaurants to open late night because that's what people are looking for.”
Employees are expected to work for not more than nine hours a day with a mandatory weekly off. Women will only work in day shifts but can be stationed between 9.30 p.m. and 7 a.m. with their consent, the rules said.
The amendment exempts small traders and shops that employ less than 10 workers from registration for a licence. There are about 35 lakh such businesses across Maharashtra, with Mumbai accounting for more than a quarter of them.