Who issues a trade licence in your city
There is no national trade licence. The local body with jurisdiction over your premises issues it, under the municipal law of your state.
| City or state | Who issues it | What it is called | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kolkata | Kolkata Municipal Corporation | Certificate of Enlistment | This is what "trade licence" means in practice in Kolkata. Renewal is annual and late renewal attracts a fine |
| Rest of West Bengal | The municipality or the gram panchayat for the area | Trade licence | The form and the fee schedule are set by each body |
| Delhi | Municipal Corporation of Delhi | Health trade licence for specified trades | Eating establishments, boarding and lodging, manufacturing, storage and sale, hawking, entertainment and recreation, and miscellaneous trades each sit in their own group under the current MCD fee order |
| Bengaluru | One of the five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority: Bengaluru Central, North, South, East or West | Trade licence | BBMP was replaced by the Greater Bengaluru Authority and these corporations in September 2025, so both the office and the schedule depend on which corporation covers your address |
| Mumbai | Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation | Trade or shop licence for specified trades | In Maharashtra the Gumasta registration under the 2017 Act carries much of the same function for ordinary shops and offices |
| Elsewhere | The municipal corporation, municipal council or panchayat for the area | Trade licence, or a trade-specific licence | Ask us before you assume your trade needs one |
What the municipal fee depends on
We do not publish trade licence amounts, because there is no national figure and every schedule changes.
What we can tell you is how each body works it out.
Kolkata. The Corporation passes a licence fee schedule each financial year covering several hundred trade categories, with an area-based element, so the amount turns on the trade and the size of the premises.
Delhi. The MCD health trade licence fee structure sets a one-time registration charge and an annual licence fee for each trade group. The current structure runs under Office Order No. PA/MHO/MCD/2025/D-193 of 28 March 2025, effective from 1 April 2025, and it provides for the annual fee to step up every three financial years.
Bengaluru. The licence fee is fixed by the corporation by trade category, and the validity period chosen at the time of application affects what you pay.
We obtain the current figure for your trade and premises from the local body and confirm it to you in writing before any application is filed.
Fees
Professional fee: ₹1,999 for a single premises, covering the check of which authority applies, the document set, the application and follow-up until the licence issues.
Government fee: municipal, and set by your local body for your trade category and premises. We confirm it in writing before filing. No national figure exists and we do not quote one.
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 22 September 2026.
Documents you will need
Typically proof of the premises, either the ownership document or a rent agreement with the owner's ownership proof and consent; the latest property tax receipt; identity and PAN of the applicant; the constitution document of the business; a site plan; photographs of the premises; and fire or pollution clearances for specified trades. The exact list is set by the local body, and we confirm it for your city before you start collecting.
Trade licence, shop registration and the rest
People arrive at this page wanting one licence and often need two or three. They are separate registrations under separate laws. Some trades need their own licence as well: see drug licence for a chemist or medical store.
| Registration | Law and authority | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Trade licence or Certificate of Enlistment | State municipal law, the local body | Permission to carry on a specified trade at a specified address |
| Shop and Establishment registration | The state Shops and Establishments Act, the labour department | Conditions of employment: hours, leave, holidays, records |
| FSSAI registration or FSSAI State licence | Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, FSSAI | Any food business, however small |
| Udyam registration | MSME framework, Udyam portal | MSME status and the benefits that come with it. Free of charge |
| Professional tax registration | State professional tax law | Where the state levies professional tax |
| Consent from the state pollution control board | Water and air pollution law | Specified manufacturing and other trades |
A food outlet in Kolkata, for example, needs the KMC Certificate of Enlistment, an FSSAI registration or licence, and a West Bengal shop registration, plus a fire safety clearance for larger premises.
Renewal, and what happens if you let it lapse
Most trade licences are annual, and renewal is the obligation people forget.
Renewal windows and penalties are fixed locally. In Kolkata, enlistment is renewed every year and late renewal carries a fine. Other bodies charge a penalty, refuse renewal until arrears are paid, or in serious cases initiate closure of the premises. Because the amounts come from local schedules that change, we confirm your renewal date and the current penalty position when we hand over the licence, and we diarise the renewal with you.
Two other points worth planning for. A change of premises is usually a fresh application, not an amendment, because the licence attaches to the address. And a change in the trade carried on can move you into a different fee category, or into a category that needs a separate clearance.