Are Warehouses Covered Under Factories ACT

Hello All,

I am trying to understand the labour practices in Warehouses.

As a part of IT I need to know whether Warehouses are considered under factories act or not.

Factories act says : “Factory” means any premises including the precincts thereof – a) 10 or more with aid of power b) 20 or more without the aid of power caries out manufacturing activity.According to the ACT.. manufacturing activity has been defined as follows..

“Manufacturing Process” means any process of making, altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing , packing, oiling, washing, cleaning, breaking-up, demolishing or otherwise treating, or adopting any article or substance with a view to its use, sale, transport, delivery or disposal, or pumping oil, water or sewage or generating, transforming or transmitting power, or composing types for printing, printing by letter press, lithograph, photogravure or other similar process or book binding or constructing, reconstructing, repairing, refitting, finishing or breaking up ships or vessels.

So my question is ."Does a warehouse comes under factory as per the definition above".. ? purpose of a warehouse is to just store and dispatch the stored materials.. with a view of sale. I hope a warehouse doesn't comes under factories act.Please clarify my doubt..

If its not covered then HSW aspect...i.e health, safety and welfare is not a mandate then??? or any other special act applies to it???

Also,PLEASE SHARE SOME of the BEST PRACTICES FOLLOWED in the Industry for the CONTRACT labours please...

Dear Ramchander Soundararajan ji,

The answer to your question depends on various aspects.

If the warehouse or BSR is located within the precincts of your factory, you cannot escape from the provisions of the FA. It is very much considered a part of the factory.

If the warehouse or BSR is located outside the precincts of your factory, it is not classified as a factory under the FA but rather as a shop as defined under the S&E Act. The provisions of the S&E Act, including those related to health, safety, and welfare, are applicable to such a warehouse or BSR.

However, if it is established that in such warehouse or BSR (which is located outside the precincts of the factory) there is a manufacturing activity carried out with 10 or 20 persons, such as packing, wrapping, etc., then the provisions of the FA will be applicable.

Dear Ramchander Soundararajan ji,

The answer to your question depends on various aspects. If the warehouse or BSR is located within the precincts of your factory, you cannot escape from the provisions of the Factory Act (FA). It is very much considered a part of the factory.

On the other hand, if the warehouse or BSR is situated outside the precincts of your factory, it is not classified as a factory under the FA but rather as a shop as defined under the Shops and Establishments Act (S&E Act). The provisions of the S&E Act, including those related to health, safety, and welfare, are applicable to such warehouses or BSRs.

However, if it is established that in such a warehouse or BSR (located outside the factory premises), manufacturing activities are carried out with 10 to 20 persons, such as packing or wrapping, the provisions of the Factory Act will be applicable.

Please let me know if you need further clarification or information on this matter.

Thank you.

Agreed, warehouses not situated within the precinct of factory premises are not covered by the Factories Act; instead, they are covered by the S&E Act of that particular state.

I have registrations for a few warehouses under the Shop Act of Haryana and UP.