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

A business in Kerala needs the same national registrations as anywhere else, plus several state and municipal licences. This guide covers the ones most businesses here meet, and how the state's K-SWIFT single-window system helps with industrial approvals.

For Every Business With Premises

Shops and establishments registration

The Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act applies to offices in the state. 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 a municipal corporation such as Kochi or Thiruvananthapuram, a municipality or a panchayat usually needs a licence from the local body. It's tied to the premises and is usually renewed every year.

Professional tax

In Kerala, professional tax is collected by local bodies, such as municipal corporations and panchayats, rather than by the state. The company enrols with the local body where it's located and deducts professional tax from employees' salaries on a half-yearly basis. Check the current slabs with your local body. 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 State Pollution Control Board, factory licences under the Factories Act and power connections. In Kerala, the state's K-SWIFT single-window system 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 Kerala and district food safety officers handling State licences and inspections.
• Pharma: drug licences from the state 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 Kerala

1. Register under the shops and establishments law.
2. Get a trade licence from your local body.
3. Register for professional tax.
4. For manufacturing, apply through the state's K-SWIFT single-window system.
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 Kerala, including shops and establishments, trade licences, FSSAI, IEC and industrial approvals.