Last updated: March 9th, 2020 3:47 PM

Kerala Trade License

Kerala trade license is a document of authorisation issued by the State Government for granting permission to regulate and carry out any forms of business from a particular locality. Trade license is mandated by the Kerala Municipality Amendment Act, 2014 to ensure that the business complies with the stipulated rules and safety guidelines. The Government of Kerala issues trade license to ensure that the citizens are not adversely affected by any health hazard and nuisance by the improper carrying of trades. In this article, we look at the procedure for obtaining a Kerala trade license in detail. In case you require any assistance for obtaining trade license in Kerala, get in touch with an IndiaFilings Advisor at sales@indiafilings.com.

Kerala Municipality Amendment Act, 1996

According to Kerala Municipality Amendment Act, any person who enters a trade or any other business such as industries, factories or workplaces in the state has to get prior permission from the concerned authority in advance before the commencement of the activity. Note: All Trades relating to Guest House, Paying Guest House, Lodging House, Boarding House will require necessary NOC or Kerala fire licence.

Importance of Trade License

The objective of the trade license is to control business location by way of putting constraints on peoples from running certain types of businesses from their home to maintain the separate business environment and preserves locality environment.

• Trade licence ensures that no business person is running any unethical business practices, and there is no severally affected by health hazard and nuisance.
• Obtaining Kerala trade licence ensures the safety measures and guidelines are followed.
• Kerala trade licence protects the owners against certain types of liability.

Who needs Kerala Trade License?

The business owners engaged in a general trading activity within the territorial limit of any municipal corporation requires to get a trade license. The class of trade license differs, and it is based on the nature of the business.

• Every person intending to construct any factory, workshop or workplace in which it is proposed to employ steam power, water power or other mechanical power or electrical power have to apply for a trade licence. Persons intending to establish a factory which does not use power also needs to obtain a trade licence.
• For running food establishments such as hotels, restaurants, eating houses, coffee houses, Abkari shop, laundries, travel agency or barber saloons, Kerala Trade licence is required.

Note: Any unauthorised running of trade is an offence which may result in a substantial penalty and subsequent prosecution.

Licensing Authority

The health department of the Kochi Municipal Corporation issues trade licenses. A trade license is an authorisation to carry on a specific business or trade at the premises for which it has been issued.

Validity

Kerala trade license granted under the Kerala Municipal Amendment Act will be valid for three years from the date of its issue.

Kerala Trade License - Renewal

Every application submission for any licence or permission or its renewal under this rules or bye-laws needs requires 30-90 days before the earliest day on which such licence expires.

Processing Time

The time frame for processing the Kerala trade license is 15 days from the date of the application at the Kochi Municipal Corporation.

Applicable Fee

For obtaining Kerala trade license, the applicant has to pay a prescribed fee as per the proposed schedule. Nature of trade wise fees for the Financial Year 2018-2019 is below: Note:

• If any nature of trade or any fees is in the schedule for issuance of new trade licence, the corresponding fees will be determined after obtaining approval from the municipal commissioner.
• Business running under LLP (Limited Liability Partnership Act) be read with companies and rates fees will also be similar to the rates, fees of Company.

Documents Required

Following documents need to be submitted for obtaining Kerala Trade license:

Documents for New Trade License

• Building Owner's Consent Letter
• Property Tax Receipt
• Profession Tax Receipt
• Consent Letter
• MOA of the Trading Institution
• Registration Certificate of the Trading Institution
• Others as requested by the Municipal corporation officials on a case-to-case basis

Documents for Renewal of Trade License

• Building Owner's Consent Letter
• Property Tax Receipt
• Professional Tax Receipt
• Previous Year License Fee Receipt
• Consent Letter
• MOA of the Trading Institution
• Registration Certificate of the Trading Institution
• Others as requested by the Municipal corporation officials on a case-to-case basis

Applying For New Kerala Trade License

The application procedure to obtain Kerala trade license is in the step by step procedure here.  Note: Depending on the trade type, i.e., in the case of Industry, Workshop, Machinery or Factory, the applicant must obtain the NOC (Non-creamy layer certificate) for installing the equipment before starting the trades. The application form for NOC is below for the reference. Step 1: The individual who wishes to undertake any trade needs to approach the municipal corporation where the industry, factory or workplace or trade or service intends to be established, for applying for the Kerala Trade licence.

Submit an Application

Step 2: The applicant has to submit an application in the prescribed format along with documents for Trade licence at the Municipal Corporation. The application form for Kerala trade license is below for the applicant reference: Provide Following details in the application form:

• Applicant name
• Address
• Purpose of obtaining a trade license
• Building and Ward number
• Name of the Road near to the prescribed building
• Maximum number of workers preferred to be employed in the factory, workshop, workplace or premises
• Details of the power, machinery, plant or premises

Get acknowledgement slip

Step 3: On submission of application, the applicant will receive an acknowledgement slip from the corporation. Note: Keep safe this application number for future reference.

Verification by Health inspector

Step 4: The health inspector, along with the junior health authority of the respective area inspects the field and verifies the conditions whether it matches the relevant rules, standards and safety guidelines. Health inspector ensures that the citizens are not adversely affected by health hazard and nuisance by the improper carrying of a trade. Note: The inspecting authorities have the full power to reject the application is found guilty and false.

Verification by Secretary

Step 5:  Health Inspector after inspecting the proposed trade premises and submit his field verification details to the Registrar. Based on the remarks received from the Health inspector, Municipal corporation secretary decides to grant a license or not.

Fee Payment

Step 6: If the secretary grants permission, the applicant has to make payment to the municipal corporation counter for issuing Kerala Trade license.

Get Kerala Trade Licence

Step 7: Once the secretary approves the request to obtain Kerala trade license from the concerned Municipal corporation office. Provide application number and get the Trade licence.

Applying Online

Follow the below-mentioned step by step guidelines to apply for Kerala Trade licence through the online Sanchaya portal.

Access Sanchaya Portal

Step 1: Applicant needs to access the main page of the Kerala Sanchaya portal. Step 2: Select citizen login option, by clicking on this the applicant redirects to the new page. [caption id="attachment_61184" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Kerala-Trade-License-Citizen-Registration Step 3: Select the concerned district from the drop-down menu and select the municipality. Click on the search option. Step 4: Further, the list of the municipal corporation will appear, select the appropriate municipality where the business intends to be established. [caption id="attachment_61188" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Kerala-Trade-License-Select-Municipality Step 5: In the new page select, D&O Licence e-filing (Urban) option for obtaining Kerala trade licence. [caption id="attachment_61187" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Kerala-Trade-License-Select-e-Filing

User Registration

Step 6: To avail online certificate services, the applicant has to register in the Sanchaya web portal. Step 7: To register in this portal, the applicant needs to click on 'New user registration' link, the page will redirect to the new page. [caption id="attachment_61189" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Kerala-Trade-License-User-Registration Step 8: Provide all personal details and select the login name and password. A next step is to provide the case-sensitive characters as in the statement. The applicant needs to click on submit and further to register.

Login to Portal

Step 9: Now, the applicant can log in into the Kerala e-district portal using the username and password. [caption id="attachment_61190" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Kerala-Trade-License-Online-Service

Provide Details

Step 10: Provide all necessary details for Kerala trade licence. By clicking on save.  The applicant redirects to the document uploading section.

Upload Document

Step 11: Upload all supporting documents, as mentioned above. Note: Attach only the PDF files. The maximum size of the PDF is 100KB per page. Step 12: On uploading, all documents the applicant has to make payment. Check entered details such as registration number, certificate type and all other information.

Payment and Receipt Generation

Step 13: After uploading documents, the fee for Kerala Trade licence can be paid. The applicant can pay a fee through net banking mode. On making payment, the applicant redirects to the receipt page. Take a print out of this receipt along with the application for future reference.

Get the Trade Licence

Step 14: As mentioned above, the application redirects to the concerned Secretary of Municipal Corporation. After verification by Health Inspector and Secretary, Kerala trade licence will be issued. By login to the Sanchaya portal applicant can get a trade licence.

Kerala Trade Licence Renewal Procedure

Every application for any licence or permission or its renewal under this rules or bye-laws requires submission within 30 days and not more than 90 days before the earliest day on which such licence expires. The applicant has to apply for license renewal in the prescribed format to concerned Municipality Corporation. The application form for Kerala trade license renewal is below for the reference: For online application, the applicant can follow the steps mentioned above. After the verification by the Health inspector and the concerned secretary will renew the Kerala trade license.