Factory licence in Gujarat under the OSH Code: what is settled and what to check

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Many online guides to getting a factory licence in Gujarat still describe the Factories Act, 1948. That law has been brought into the OSH Code. If you plan a new plant, add a line, or renew a licence, start from the Code and the Gujarat rules made under it.

This guide sets out what is settled in the official text, what is still open, and a practical order of work. For help with your own premises, see our service on factory licence and GPCB consents in Gujarat.

What is settled

The Code is in force

The Ministry of Labour and Employment appointed 21 November 2025 as the date on which the Code's provisions came into force. The notification is S.O. 5321(E). It brings the whole Code into force on that date. No sections were left for later.

The Factories Act has been brought into the Code

A Ministry of Labour body, DGFASLI, now lists the Factories Act, 1948 as subsumed in the OSH Code. The Government's own factsheet says the Code replaces 13 central labour laws. Section 143 of the Code deals with repeal and savings.

In practice, this means one thing for readers: checklists, forms and thresholds written under the Factories Act may no longer be right. Use them only after checking them against the Code and the Gujarat rules.

What counts as a factory

Under section 2(1)(w) of the Code, a factory is premises with:

  • 20 or more workers, where the manufacturing process uses power; or
  • 40 or more workers, where it does not.

A proviso keeps a State's own threshold in place until that State's legislature changes it. So the first question for any Gujarat unit is whether a different State number applies.

Who regulates factories

For a factory, the "appropriate Government" under the Code is the State Government where the factory is located (section 2(1)(d)(ii)). That is why the Gujarat rules, not the central rules, govern factory licensing in Gujarat. Central rules under the Code exist, but they are for matters in the Central Government's sphere.

Where licensing sits

Section 79 of the Code, headed "Approval and licensing of factories", deals with factory approval and licensing.

The Gujarat rules

The Government of Gujarat notified the Gujarat Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2025 on 6 June 2025. They came into force with the Code on 21 November 2025. They replace the Gujarat Factories Rules, 1963 and five other sets of State rules. Rules 69 to 83 deal with factories. In outline:

  • Plan approval (rule 69). A building may not be built, rebuilt, extended or taken into use as a factory without written permission from the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator of factories. The application is made online in Form 31, with plans, a process flow diagram and details of the workforce.
  • If there is no reply (rule 73). Plans are treated as approved if the authority does not respond within 30 days of a valid application.
  • If work does not start (rule 71). An approval lapses if construction does not start within six months.
  • Certificate of stability (rule 70). Before manufacturing starts in new, altered or extended premises, a certificate of stability in Form 32, signed by a competent person, must be submitted. A fresh certificate is needed every five years and after changes such as extensions or added machinery.
  • The licence (rule 75). The occupier or manager applies in Form 33, with the registration certificate and the fee. The licence is issued in Form 34. The fee depends on the number of workers and the installed horsepower, as set out in the schedule to rule 75. The authority may refuse a licence if the plans are not approved or their conditions are not met.
  • Amendment (rule 76). A licence must be amended within 30 days of a change of factory name, or if the factory goes beyond the workers or horsepower in the licence.
  • Renewal (rule 77). The renewal application must reach the authority at least 60 days before the licence expires. Renewal may be applied for up to 10 consecutive years at once.
  • While an application is pending (rule 79). A factory whose complete application for grant or renewal has been made is treated as licensed until the authority decides.
  • Existing factories (rule 6). A factory already registered under an earlier labour law had to submit its particulars in Form 1 within 180 days of the Code coming into force, with no registration fee.

Registration and recurring duties

The Code also requires establishments to register electronically (section 3). It bars employing workers in an establishment that is not registered. Some registrations under earlier laws are treated as registrations under the Code.

Under section 33, the employer must keep registers, display notices, issue wage slips and file returns, at the intervals the rules set. These duties continue for as long as the factory runs.

What still needs checking

A few points still need checking for each site. Treat any confident answer you read online with care.

QuestionWhy it is openWhat to do
What fee do I pay now?The schedule to rule 75 sets the fee by workers and horsepower, but the authority issues notices on fees and payment.Confirm the amount on the State authority's official portal before you pay.
Does my old Factories Act licence carry over?The 2025 rules replace the 1963 rules. Rule 6 deals with the registration particulars of existing factories, not with licences. The savings in section 143 of the Code have not been reviewed in detail.Check your licence and its expiry date. Ask the authority in writing how it is treated.
Does Gujarat use a different worker threshold?The Code lets State law keep its own number.Check the current Gujarat position before you decide the premises is, or is not, a factory.
What else must be in place for my site?Other laws may apply, such as pollution consents and fire safety.Ask the authority what it needs to see with your application.

Be careful with notices about fees, deadlines or renewals that circulate on messaging groups or compliance websites. Confirm each one on the official State source before you act on it.

A practical order of work

The steps below are a typical order of work, not a legal sequence.

  1. Check applicability. Count workers as the Code defines them, and note whether power is used. Check whether a Gujarat threshold applies.
  2. Find the current Gujarat requirements. Get the forms, fees and portal from the State authority's official website, not from an older checklist.
  3. Get plan approval before construction or change. Apply in Form 31 before you build, extend or first use the premises as a factory (rule 69). Start work within six months of approval.
  4. Submit the certificate of stability, then apply for the licence. Send the Form 32 certificate before manufacturing starts, and apply for the licence in Form 33 with the registration certificate and fee.
  5. Register the establishment where required, and keep the registration current.
  6. Set up recurring duties. Registers, notices, wage slips and returns under section 33.
  7. Keep the licence in line with the site. Apply to amend it within 30 days of a change of name or of going beyond its workers or horsepower, and apply for renewal at least 60 days before it expires.

Other approvals usually run alongside. Pollution control consents come from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board. A fire safety certificate is issued under the Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013, where that Act applies to the building, and is applied for and renewed online. For a new plant, see the wider set of approvals to set up an industry in Gujarat.

Illustrative example

A plant licensed years ago under the Factories Act plans a new production line. Before work starts, the team checks three things. First, how its existing licence is treated under the OSH Code and the Gujarat rules. Second, whether the new line needs approval under the Code and the Gujarat rules. Third, whether its registers, notices and returns follow the Code. It records each answer with its source and the date checked.

Keeping it current

Factory licensing is not a one-time task. To link licence conditions, returns and renewals to an owner and a due date, with reminders, see Adynta Compliance Monitoring.

Sources

Official sources. The date after each link is when we last checked it.

Not legal advice. This article is general information, not legal advice. It is written without knowledge of your specific facts, and it does not say that any rule applies, or does not apply, to you. Adynta Consulting is not a law firm. Licences are decided by the authorities concerned. This article states the position as at 9 November 2026, and each source above shows when it was last checked. Always confirm against the official text.

Talk to us about your factory licence

Adynta Consulting checks whether your premises is a factory under the OSH Code, plans the approval and licence under the Gujarat rules, and tracks each application until it is decided. We do not promise approvals, timelines or fees.

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