The Government of Uttar Pradesh, on November 19, 2025, published the Uttar Pradesh Dookan Aur Vanijya Adhishthan (Sanshodhan) Ordinance, 2025, promulgated by the Governor under Article 213 of the Constitution to amend the Uttar Pradesh Dookan Aur Vanijya Adhishthan Adhiniyam, 1962. The Ordinance extends to the entire State and comes into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, with Shram Anubhag-3 being the administratively concerned department.
The Ordinance widens and clarifies key definitions, particularly that of “commercial establishment,” to expressly include professional establishments such as hospitals, clinics, consultants, service providers, and platform-based delivery services, and also recognizes persons engaged through outsourcing agencies as employees. It further amends the applicability provisions by excluding shops or commercial establishments employing less than twenty employees from certain requirements under the Act.
Significantly, the Ordinance revises the registration framework by mandating online registration within six months for shops and commercial establishments employing twenty or more employees, introducing an automatic, portal-based registration system subject to eligibility and disclosure requirements. It also updates working hour provisions, prescribing limits of six hours for young persons and nine hours for other employees, with controlled overtime subject to weekly and daily caps, thereby strengthening regulatory clarity and ease of compliance while ensuring employee welfare.
[U.P. Ordinance No. 16 of 2025]
