For 70 years, Chandigarh went to bed early. Shops shut. Streets emptied. The city that Le Corbusier built as India’s most modern urban experiment somehow stayed trapped in a colonial-era law that decided when its residents could buy bread, fill petrol, or find a meal after dark.
That is over now.
In what is arguably the single biggest quality-of-life and ease-of-doing-business reform in Chandigarh’s post-Independence history, the city’s commercial establishments are now free to stay open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. No permissions. No inspectors at the door. No archaic closing-hour rules.
Here is everything you need to know.
What exactly has changed?
Until August 2025, all shops and commercial establishments in Chandigarh were governed by the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 — a law that specified when businesses could open, when they had to shut, and how many hours employees could work. Violating these provisions invited penalties, inspections and even cancellation of trade licences.
On August 14, 2025, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria used his statutory powers under Section 28 of that very Act to exempt all registered establishments in the Union Territory from its restrictive provisions. In plain language: every shop, restaurant, hotel, club, store, fuel pump, spa, salon, pharmacy, delivery hub or commercial establishment registered under this Act in Chandigarh can now stay open around the clock, on all 365 days, without seeking any fresh permission from any authority.
A second notification, issued on March 17, 2026, went further. After the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2025, was formally extended to Chandigarh by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on December 5, 2025, the Administration updated the conditions to align with the liberalised national framework — making the reform even more business-friendly.
Why was this change needed?
Chandigarh is a Union Territory — a city directly administered by the Central Government through an appointed Administrator. Yet for decades, it was governed by a Punjab state law drafted in 1958, when India’s economy was largely agrarian, retail was unorganised, and the idea of a 24-hour city was science fiction.
The world changed. Chandigarh did not — at least not on paper.
Residents who needed emergency medicine at midnight drove to Mohali. Professionals working night shifts had nowhere to eat after 11 pm. Young entrepreneurs who wanted to launch late-night food businesses were stifled by law. Delivery startups, logistics companies and e-commerce dark stores — built on the premise of round-the-clock fulfilment — operated in a legal grey zone.
Meanwhile, India’s larger policy push under the national Ease of Doing Business framework was calling for exactly this kind of deregulation. The Punjab Shops Amendment Act, 2025, was the legislative response at the state level — and once it was extended to Chandigarh, the Administration moved swiftly to implement it.
Who benefits — and how?
The reform touches virtually every resident and business in the city.
For residents and consumers: Grocery stores, pharmacies, fuel pumps, bakeries, dairy outlets, food joints and delivery services are now accessible at any hour. A medical emergency at 3 am, a late-night hunger craving, a fuel stop on the way back from a wedding — none of these require planning around closing hours anymore.
For businesses large and small: From multinationals like McDonald’s, Domino’s, KFC and Subway to a neighbourhood chai stall, a karyana store in Khuda Lahora or a bakery booth in Sector 8-B — every registered establishment now has the legal freedom to extend its operating hours as its business demands. There are no additional licences to obtain, no new registrations to file, no inspections to clear.
For workers and job seekers: A genuine night economy creates a second shift of employment. Workers who cannot access day-shift jobs — caregivers, students, those with second occupations — now have a legal, structured framework within which night-shift work is permitted, regulated and protected.
For the city’s economy: Chandigarh’s retail, hospitality and food service sectors have historically underperformed relative to the city’s per-capita income and purchasing power — in large part because of operating hour restrictions. Removing that ceiling opens a significant new revenue window for the local economy.
How does an establishment go 24/7?
This is where the reform is perhaps most remarkable: the process is almost entirely paperless and bureaucracy-free.
Any shop or commercial establishment already registered under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act in Chandigarh that wishes to operate round the clock simply has to submit a written undertaking to the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh — who is also the Labour Commissioner — confirming that it will comply with the conditions laid down in the notifications. That is all. No inspection. No fee. No waiting period. No approval needed.
As of now, 179 establishments have submitted their undertakings and are already operating 24×7, spanning food and beverages, hotels, restaurants, clubs, fuel, logistics, wellness, pet care, jewellery, IT services, grocery, salon and pharmacy categories across virtually every part of the city — from Sector 7 to Sector 47, from Manimajra to the UT’s own villages of Khuda Lahora, Khuda Jassu and Burail.
What conditions must be followed?
Freedom comes with responsibility. The notifications are detailed and non-negotiable on worker welfare.
Working hours: No employee can be required to work more than 10 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week. The total daily spread-over — including rest intervals — cannot exceed 12 hours. Every employee must receive one paid rest day per week, with the monthly schedule displayed on the notice board in advance. A compulsory rest break of at least 30 minutes must be given after every five continuous hours of work.
Wages and overtime: All wages, including overtime, must be credited directly to employees’ bank accounts — no cash. Overtime must be paid at twice the normal hourly rate. The maximum permissible overtime is 144 hours per quarter.
Women employees: This is where the notifications are most exhaustive, and rightly so. Women cannot be made to work past 8 pm without their specific written consent. Where they do work night shifts, the employer must provide GPS-enabled transport, a security guard escort, and maintain detailed boarding and movement registers including vehicle numbers, driver details and pickup and drop times. Vehicles must have no tinted glass or curtains. Emergency helpline numbers must be displayed inside every transport vehicle. Drivers cannot pick up a woman worker first or drop her last. They must wait until she has entered her home before leaving. A minimum of five women must be employed per night shift. Annual self-defence workshops are mandatory for all women employees. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, applies in full.
Premises safety: CCTV cameras with a minimum 15-day recording backup must be installed. An emergency alarm system is compulsory. Child and adolescent labour is strictly prohibited. All national and festival holidays must be given with wages.
Override clause: The notifications carry an important safety provision — if any situation arises that is governed by the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, or the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, those laws will take precedence and normal commercial permissions can be suspended.
Non-compliance with any condition can result in the exemption being cancelled — after giving the establishment an opportunity to be heard.
What do authorities say?
Speaking to The Tribune, Punjab Governor-cum-Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria said, “We are committed to providing a transparent and responsive administration that facilitates people in their daily lives, not one that creates hurdles.”
“The Governor’s direction was clear — no archaic law should obstruct a genuine business or the convenience of our residents. The process is simple, paperless and immediate,” said Deputy Commissioner and Labour Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav.
The bigger picture
Chandigarh’s 24×7 reform sits within a broader national conversation about deregulation, urban liveability and the right of cities to grow beyond the laws written for a different era. The fact that it has been achieved not through any new legislation but through the targeted, intelligent use of an existing exemption provision shows that transformative change does not always require a new law — sometimes it just requires the will to use the tools already available.
For lakhs of residents who simply want a city that serves them on their own schedule — and for thousands of entrepreneurs who simply want to build businesses without bureaucratic shackles — Chandigarh’s answer, finally, is yes.
The city is open. All night. Every night.
