Timing of establishment

Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954

Opening and closing hours

No shop or commercial establishment may open earlier or close later than the hours the Government fixes by general or special order, and different hours may be fixed for different classes, areas or times of yearThis comes from the Labour Department's own copy of the Act at labour.delhi.gov.in. That copy is an annotated edition rather than a bare Act: each section is followed by editorial 'Comments' with case notes and the editor's glosses, and some of those glosses go further than the section above them — one, for instance, describes an 11 p.m. closing as optional, which section 16 does not say. Only the statutory text is used on this page.Section 15(1) and (3)

Serving a customer at closing time

A customer already being served, or waiting to be served, at the closing hour may be served for fifteen minutes after itThe proviso to section 15(1)

The hours actually fixed

Not yet addedThe department's copy quotes notification No. F. 9(1)/79/LC (S) of 19 July 1979 — shops 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., commercial establishments 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. — and then says relaxations have been given, and separately refers to changes made in 2004. The notification in force has not been read, so no current hours are stated here

Spread-over

Ten and a half hours in a commercial establishment; twelve hours in a shopSection 11