The Factories Act, 1948

(1) This Act may be called the Factories Act, 1948. 1[(2) It extends to the whole of India 2***.] (3) It shall come into force on the 1st day of April 1949.

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-- (a) "adult" means a person who has completed his eighteenth year of age; (b) "adolescent" means a person who has completed his fifteenth year of age but has notcompleted his eighteenth year; 1[(bb) "calendar year" means the period of twelve months beginning with the first day of Januaryin any year;] (c) "child" means a person who has not completed his fifteenth year of age; 2[(ca) "competent person", in relation to any provision of this Act, means a person or aninstitution recognised as such by the Chief Inspector for the purposes of carrying out tests,examinations and inspections required to be done in a factory under the provisions of this Act havingregard to-- (i) the qualifications and experience of the person and facilities available at his disposal; or (ii) the qualifications and experience of the persons employed in such institution and facilitiesavailable therein, with regard to the conduct of such tests, examinations and inspections, and more than one person orinstitution can be recognised as a competent person in relation to a factory; (cb) "hazardous process" means any process or activity in relation to an industry specified in theFirst Schedule where, unless special care is taken, raw materials used therein or the intermediate orfinished products, bye-products, wastes or effluents thereof would-- (i) cause material impairment to the health of the persons engaged in or connectedtherewith, or (ii) result in the pollution or the general environment: Provided that the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, amend the FirstSchedule by way of addition, omission or variation of any industry specified in the said Schedule;] (d) "young person" means a person who is either a child or an adolescent; (e) "day" means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at midnight; (f) "week" means a period of seven days beginning at midnight on Saturday night or such othernight as may be approved in writing for a particular area by the Chief Inspector of Factories; (g) "power" means electrical energy, or any other form of energy which is mechanicallytransmitted and is not generated by human or animal agency; (h) "prime mover" means any engine, motor or other appliance which generates or otherwiseprovides power; (i) "transmission machinery" means any shaft, wheel, drum, pulley, system of pulleys, coupling,clutch, driving belt or other appliance or device by which the motion of a prime mover is transmittedto or received by any machinery or appliance; (j) "machinery" includes prime movers, transmission machinery and all other appliances wherebypower is generated, transformed, transmitted or applied; (k) "manufacturing process" means any process for-- (i) making, altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, packing, oiling, washing, cleaning,breaking up, demolishing, or otherwise treating or adapting any article or substance with a viewto its use, sale, transport, delivery or disposal; or 3[(ii) pumping oil, water, sewage or any other substance; or] (iii) generating, transforming or transmitting power; or 4[(iv) composing types for printing, printing by letter press, lithography, photogravure orother similar process or book binding; 5[or]] (v) constructing, reconstructing, repairing, refitting, finishing or breaking up ships orvessels; 5[or] 5[(vi) preserving or storing any article in cold storage;] (l) "worker" means a person 6[employed, directly or by or through any agency (including acontractor) with or without the knowledge of the principal employer, whether for remuneration ornot], in any manufacturing process, or in cleaning any part of the machinery or premises used for amanufacturing process, or in any other kind of work incidental to, or connected with, themanufacturing process, or the subject of the manufacturing process 5[but does not include anymember of the armed forces of the Union]; (m) "factory" means any premises including the precincts thereof-- (i) whereon ten or more workers are working, or were working on any day of the precedingtwelve months, and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being carried on with the aidof power, or is ordinarily so carried on, or (ii) whereon twenty or more workers are working, or were working on any day of thepreceding twelve months, and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being carried onwithout the aid of power, or is ordinarily so carried on,-- but does not include a mine subject to the operation of 7[the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952)], or 8[a mobilemobile unit belonging to the armed forces of the Union, railway running shed or a hotel, restaurant oreating place]. 9[Explanation 10[I]--For computing the number of workers for the purposes of this clause all theworkers in 11[different groups and relays] in a day shall be taken into account;] 12[Explanation II.--For the purposes of this clause, the mere fact that an Electronic Data ProcessingUnit or a Computer Unit is installed in any premises or part thereof, shall not be construed to make it afactory if no manufacturing process is being carried on in such premises or part thereof;] (n) "occupier" of a factory means the person who has ultimate control over the affairs of thefactory 13***. 12[Provided that-- (i) in the case of a firm or other association of individuals, any one of the individual partnersor members thereof shall be deemed to be the occupier; (ii) in the case of a company, any one of the directors shall be deemed to be the occupier; (iii) in the case of a factory owned or controlled by the Central Government or any StateGovernment, or any local authority, the person or persons appointed to manage the affairs of thefactory by the Central Government, the Stale Government or the local authority, as the case maybe, shall be deemed to be the occupier:] 9[14[Provided further that] in the case of a ship which is being repaired, or on which maintenancework is being carried out, in a dry dock which is available for hire,-- (1) the owner of the dock shall be deemed to be the occupier for the purposes of any matterprovided for by or under-- (a) section 6, section 7, 12[section 7A, section 7B,] section 11 or section 12; (b) section 17, in so far as it relates to the providing and maintenance of sufficient andsuitable lighting in or around the dock; (c) section 18, section 19, section 42, section 46, section 47 or section 49, in relation to theworkers employed on such repair or maintenance; (2) the owner of the ship or his agent or master or other officer-in-charge of the ship or anyperson who contracts with such owner, agent or master or other officer-in-charge to carry out therepair or maintenance work shall be deemed to be the occupier for the purposes of any matterprovided for by or under section 13, section 14, section 16 or section 17 (save as otherwise providedin this proviso) or Chapter IV (except section 27) or section 43, section 44 or section 45, Chapter VI,Chapter VII, Chapter VIII or Chapter IX or section 108, section 109 or section 110, in relation to-- (a) the workers employed directly by him, or by or through any agency; and (b) the machinery, plant or premises in use for the purpose of carrying out such repair ormaintenance work by such owner, agent, master or other officer-in-charge or person; 15* * * * * (p) prescribed means prescribed by rules made by the State Government under this Act; 16* * * * * (r) where work of the same kind is carried out by two or more sets of workers working duringdifferent periods of the day, each of such sets is called a 17["group" or "relay"] and each of suchperiods is called a shift. STATE AMENDMENT Maharashtra Amendment of section 2 of 63 of 1948.--In section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), in its application to the State of Maharashtra (hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act"), in clause (m),-- (a) in sub-clause (i), after the words "whereon ten or more workers" the words "or such number of workers as may be specified by the State Government by notification, from time to time" shall be inserted; (b) in sub-clause (ii), after the words "whereon twenty or more workers" the words "or such number of workers as may be specified by the State Government by notification, from time to time" shall be inserted; (c) after sub-clause (ii), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-- "Provided that, the number of workers to be specified by the State Government in sub-clauses (i) and (ii) shall not exceed twenty and forty workers, respectively.". [Vide Maharashtra Act 40 of 2015, s. 2]. Ladakh (UT).-- Section 2.--In clause (m), (i) in sub-clauses (i) for the words "ten or more workers", the words "twenty or more workers" shall be substituted; (ii) in sub-clause(ii), for the words "twenty or more workers", the words "forty or more workers" shall be substituted. [Vide Union Territory of Ladakh Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Order, 2020, notificationNo. S.O. 3774(E), dated (23-10-2020)..] Jammu and Kashmir (UT). -- Section 2.--In clause (m), in sub-clauses (i) and (ii), for "ten" and "twenty", substitute "twenty" and"forty" respectively. .[Vide Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Order, 2020,notification No. S.O. 3465(E), dated (5-10-2020)..] Uttar Pradesh Amendment of section 63 of 1948.--In section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 as amended in its applicationto Uttar Pradesh, herein after referred to as principal Act, in clause (m),-- (i) in sub-clause (i), for the words "ten or more", the words "twenty or more" shall besubstituted; (ii) in sub-clause (ii), for the words "twenty or more", the words "forty or more" shall besubstituted. [Vide Uttar Pradesh Act 13 of 2018, s. 2] Arunachal Pradesh Amendment of section 2.In section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act 63 of 1948), as in force in the State of Arunachal Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as the “principal Act”), in clause (m),-- (i) in sub-clause (i), for the words “ten or more workers” , the words “twenty or more workers” shall be substituted. (ii) in sub-clause (ii), for the words “twenty or more workers” the words “forty or more workers” shall be substituted. [Vide Arunachal Pradesh Act 6 of 2020, s. 2] Rajasthan Amendment of section 2, Central Act No. 63 of 1948.- In section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (Central Act No. 63 of 1948), in its application to the State of Rajasthan, hereinafter referred to as the principal Act,- (i) in sub-clause (i) of clause (m), for the existing word ten, the word twenty shall be substituted; and (ii) in sub-clause (ii) of clause (m), for the existing word twenty, the word forty shall be substituted. [Vide Rajasthan Act 20 of 2014, s. 2]

In this Act references to time of day are references to Indian StandardTime, being five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time: Provided that for any area in which Indian Standard Time is not ordinarily observed the StateGovernment may make rules-- (a) specifying the area, (b) defining the local mean time ordinarily observed therein, and (c) permitting such time to be observed in all or any of the factories situated in the area.

1[4. Power to declare different departments to be separate factories or two or more factories tobe a single factory.--The State Government may, 2[on its own or] on an application made in this behalfby an occupier, direct, by an order in writing 2[and subject to such conditions as it may deem fit that forall or any of the purposes of this Act different departments or branches of a factory of the occupierspecified in the application shall be treated as separate factories or that two or more factories of theoccupier specified in the application shall be treated as a single factory:] 3[Provided that no order under this section shall be made by the State Government on its own motionunless an opportunity of being heard is given to the occupier.]]

In any case of public emergency the StateGovernment may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt any factory or class or description offactories from all or any of the provisions of this Act 1[except section 67] for such period and subject tosuch conditions as it may think fit: Provided that no such notification shall be made for a period exceeding three months at a time. 2[Explanation.--For the purposes of this section "public emergency" means a grave emergencywhereby the security of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened, whether by war orexternal aggression or internal disturbance.]