The Bihar Government has repealed the Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2025 through an Ordinance promulgated by the Governor under Article 213 of the Constitution. The repeal came into effect immediately upon the issuance of the Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Repeal) Ordinance, 2026.
According to the Ordinance, the State Government found that several provisions of the 2025 Act overlapped with the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSHWC Code), which was brought into force by the Central Government on November 21, 2025. The Government stated that the coexistence of parallel provisions under the State law and the Central Code necessitated repeal of the Bihar legislation.
The Ordinance further notes that Bihar is seeking to create new opportunities for industrial investment and accelerate economic activity in the State. It states that removing overlapping regulatory provisions would help streamline the legal framework governing employment and working conditions in shops and establishments.
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“Furthermore, since there is currently a need to generate new opportunities for industrial investment within the state of Bihar in order to accelerate industrial and economic activities, and given the coexistence of overlapping provisions under various enactments, it has become necessary to repeal the Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2025 (Bihar Act-09, 2025).”
As the Bihar Legislature was not in session, the Governor exercised ordinance-making powers under Article 213 after being satisfied that immediate action was required.
While repealing the 2025 Act, the Ordinance preserves all proceedings already initiated under the repealed law, clarifying that such proceedings will continue as if the Act had not been repealed.