Business Licences in Jammu and Kashmir: Shops Registration, Trade Licence and Sector Approvals

A business in Jammu and Kashmir needs the same national registrations as anywhere else, plus several local and municipal licences. This guide covers the ones most businesses here meet, and how the administration's industries department helps with industrial approvals.

For Every Business With Premises

Shops and establishments registration

Jammu and Kashmir's shops and establishments law applies to commercial establishments, including a company's office. Register with the Labour Department. It governs working hours, holidays and employee records, and is often used as business proof when opening a bank account.

Trade licence

An office within the Srinagar or Jammu Municipal Corporation, or another local body area, usually needs a trade licence. It's tied to the premises and is usually renewed every year.

Professional tax

Check with the Jammu and Kashmir Commercial Taxes Department whether professional tax applies to your company and its employees, and at what rates. If it does, register within 30 days of becoming liable, and deduct and pay over the tax from salaries each month once you have staff.

For Manufacturing and Industrial Units

Industrial units need approvals such as building permissions, fire NOCs, consent to establish and consent to operate from the Pollution Control Committee for the union territory, factory licences under the Factories Act and power connections. In Jammu and Kashmir, the administration's industries department brings many of these together, with defined timelines for approvals. Units in government industrial parks or estates also have to follow the park's own allotment conditions.

Sector Licences

• Food: FSSAI registration or licence, with the Commissioner of Food Safety for Jammu and Kashmir and district food safety officers handling State licences and inspections.
• Pharma: drug licences from the local drugs control authority for pharmacies, wholesalers and manufacturers.
• Packaged goods: Legal Metrology registration for packers, importers and manufacturers of pre-packaged goods.
• Import and export: the Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT, which is valid for life with an annual update between April and June.
• Other regulated trades: licences for things such as liquor, explosives, cinemas and private security agencies, from the authority that regulates each.

A Checklist for Businesses in Jammu and Kashmir

1. Register under the shops and establishments law.
2. Get a trade licence from your local body.
3. Check whether professional tax applies, and register if it does.
4. For manufacturing, apply through the administration's industries department.
5. Get sector licences, such as FSSAI, a drug licence or Legal Metrology registration, as they apply.
6. Get an IEC before your first import or export.
7. Keep a renewal calendar for every licence.

Getting Help

Think Filing handles licences and registrations for businesses in Jammu and Kashmir, including shops and establishments, trade licences, FSSAI, IEC and industrial approvals.