Seeking Advice: Should We Close Our Shop License If No One Is Appointed?

Dear Fraternity,

If a shop establishment has a license for 50 members and there is currently no one appointed to carry out the responsibilities, the assistant labor inspector has suggested applying for the closure of the license. They further inquired why closure has not been applied for yet. If no one has been appointed to fulfill the duties but the establishment still holds a license, it should indeed be applied for closure.

I am seeking your valuable suggestions and advice in this regard.

Thank you.

Understanding the Legal Concept of a License

In a legal sense, a 'license' is a statutory permission to do a thing in a specified manner subject to certain conditions. Therefore, when the occasion or need for the thing does not arise subsequently, there is no necessity to keep the license any longer, and as such, it can be surrendered forthwith to the authority concerned.

Surrendering a License When Employment Needs Change

When the requirement for employing any person in the establishment is not there, the employer should surrender the license immediately.

It is not compulsory to have the number of employees specified in the license (or any employees, for that matter). Therefore, it's your choice whether to renew the license every year or surrender it. However, if you keep the license, you must comply with the required regulations, including maintaining registers and submitting returns.

I am sure there is a reason why you still have the license. Make the decision based on a business call, not because the government authority is asking you to shut it.