Maharashtra Factory Registration

The Factories Act 1948, makes it mandatory for every factory in India to abide by the stated rules and guidelines. The foremost measure to be initiated during the establishment of a factory is registration, followed by which the licenses can be availed from the government. In this article, we look at the procedure for obtaining Maharashtra factory registration in detail.

Objectives of the Factories Act, 1948

The objective of the Factories Act 1948, is to ensure that adequate safety measures are adopted to promote the safety, welfare, and health of the employees. In addition to this, the Act specifies the provisions associated with female employees and young people, wages for employees, work hours, working conditions, etc.

Applicability of the Act

The Act is applicable to all states in India and to all manufacturing processes and establishments. In some cases, the Act is also applicable to factories that belong to Central/ Stae Government.

Application Procedure

A factory owner has to follow certain steps to register a factory with the Government. The application procedure for factory registration in Maharashtra are as follows: Step 1: Application The factory owner has to approach the local area inspector and avail the application form. Step 2: Fee Payment The concerned applicant has to pay the appropriate fee to register the factory. Once registered, the Government issues the registration certificate. Step 3: Making Corrections If there are any corrections to be made, the employers should notify the same to the Inspector by applying in the prescribed form. On submitting the form, the employer has to pay the prescribed fee and get the registration certificate in the desired manner. Step 4: Renewal of Certificate After receiving the certificate, the employer has to renew it every year by applying for it to the Inspectors in the prescribed form.

Required Documents and Information

The following documents and information are required to register a factory:

Memorandum/Articles of Association/Trust Deed
Purchase agreement of the premises
List of Directors and Managers
Proof of bank account
First Income Tax Assessment order
BMC Declaration
Date of commencement of business

Compliance

During the course of administration, the inspectors are obligated to approach the establishments to discover or rule out any instance of infringements, prosecutions, and defaults in the factory premises.

Renewal of Registration

The Act facilitates the renewal of registration, which can be done by submitting the relevant forms to the concerned authority along with the old certificate of registration and the prescribed renewal fee. The form has to be submitted before 15 days of the date of expiry of the certificate. If there are any changes made in the establishment, it has to be specified within 15 days post the expiry of the quarter to which the changes relate. However, the establishment of the Central Government and the State Government are exempted from all provisions stated by this Act.

Factory Act Violations

Acts classified as a violation under this provision includes non-registration, non- renewal, opening and closing of the establishments before the prescribed hours, making employers work during public holidays, child labor, etc. Some of the other violations could be in the form of a procedural lapse, the likes of which include the non-maintenance of employment register/leave register/lime washing register/visit book/non-provision of leave book to the employees, non-production of the appropriate record register, notices for inspection on demand, etc.

Working Hours for Adults

According to the Factories Act, 1948, adult employees working in the factories of Maharashtra would gain the benefit of the following regulations:

Less than 48 hours of weekly work.
Less than 9 hours of daily work.
One weekly holiday or substitute holiday, in addition to compensatory holidays.
Rest intervals for at least half an hour in a day.
No overlapping of shifts, i.e. the workers should not be forced to work for more than two continuous shifts.
Extra wages for overtime shifts, in which case the rate of wages should be twice the ordinary rate of wages for overtime work.
The provision of notice period.

Employment of Women and Children

The following regulations must be followed while employing women and children in factories:

The shift timing for children should be between 6 Am to 7 PM.
For women employees, the shift timings should be between 10 PM to 5 AM.
No women must be designated for night-shift duties, except for tasks that involve fish curing and fish canning.

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Closure of the Establishment

According to Section 8 of the Factories Act, if an employer is closing down a business, he/she has to report it to the concerned inspector within ten days of shutting down the factory. The inspector then proceeds to cancel the registration. If the employer loses or destroys the registration certificate, a duplicate certificate can be obtained by applying to the inspector by paying the prescribed fee for insurance.

Penalties under Factories Act

According to the Factories Act of 1948, the penalty for offenses is affixed at Rs. 500. It may also exceed this limit based on the nature of the offense.