A client called us last month convinced his laptop had a problem. He’d applied for a new Gumasta certificate on Aaplesarkar a year ago without issue, went back to renew an amendment, and the registration form simply wasn’t there anymore. Nothing wrong with his laptop. The service had moved.
Stuck on a Shop Act application right now? WhatsApp us and we’ll check your application status directly.
Where Shop Act Registration Actually Happens Now
Maharashtra rolled out MAITRI 2.0 — the Maharashtra Industry, Trade and Investment Facilitation portal — in 2025, consolidating roughly 119 services from 15 different departments into one system. Shop and Establishment Act registration, which used to sit on Aaplesarkar (and before that, the LMS portal), is now one of those consolidated services.
If you visit Aaplesarkar’s Shop and Establishment registration page today, it doesn’t even pretend to host the form anymore. It tells you outright that the service has moved and points you to MAITRI. The correct destination is:
maitri.maharashtra.gov.in
Note there are two versions floating around in older guides — MAITRI 1.0, which is no longer functional for new registrations, and MAITRI 2.0, which is the live one. If a link you find online takes you to “maitri.mahaonline.gov.in” and registration doesn’t go through, that’s the old version. Use maitri.maharashtra.gov.in directly.
If You Already Applied Before the Move
This is the part that worries people the most, understandably. If you submitted a Shop Act application on the old Aaplesarkar system before the migration, your application should have carried over into the new system rather than disappearing. But “should have” isn’t the same as “definitely did,” so don’t assume — check.
Use the tracking option on MAITRI with your old application number first. If it shows up, you’re fine and the process continues from wherever it was. If it doesn’t show up at all, don’t immediately file a fresh application — that creates a duplicate record under your name, and untangling two open applications takes far longer than waiting a few extra days for the original to surface. Raise it with the Labour Department through MAITRI’s grievance or support channel and reference your original application date and number.
What’s Actually Different in the Application Itself
The form fields haven’t changed dramatically — establishment name, nature of business, proprietor details, number of employees, date of commencement, premises address. What’s changed is the workflow around it: MAITRI handles document upload, payment, and tracking in a more unified dashboard than the older system did, and because it spans multiple departments, your Shop Act application sits alongside any other MAITRI-routed approvals your business might need (pollution consent, fire NOC, and so on, depending on your business type).
One thing that trips people up: if a section of the portal shows “Loading services…” and just sits there, that’s usually a temporary glitch from the transition, not a dead end. Refresh after a couple of minutes before assuming something’s broken.
A Note on the 10-Employee Threshold
If your establishment has 10 or more employees, there’s a separate 2026 clarification about whether you even need a Shop Act registration at all if you’re registered under the central OSHWC Code. We’ve covered that specifically in a separate post — it’s worth checking before you go through the MAITRI process, in case you’re applying for something you may not technically need anymore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the old Aaplesarkar Shop Act link completely dead, or will it redirect me? As of 2026, Aaplesarkar’s Shop and Establishment registration page no longer hosts the form — it displays a message pointing you to the Shop Act MAITRI Portal instead. It won’t silently redirect you; you need to navigate to maitri.maharashtra.gov.in yourself.
Do I need to create a new account on the Shop Act MAITRI Portal, or can I use my old login? MAITRI 2.0 is a separate system from Aaplesarkar, so you’ll typically need to register fresh on the portal itself, even if your underlying business registration carried over. This is different from a password reset — it’s a new account on a new system entirely.
What if my Shop Act renewal was due during the transition period? If your renewal date fell during the migration window and you couldn’t access either the old or new system, document the date you attempted to file and raise it with the Labour Department through MAITRI’s support channel once you’re registered. Genuine portal-transition delays are typically not held against the business, but you do need to follow up rather than assume it’s automatically excused.
Is MAITRI only for Shop Act, or does it cover other registrations too? The Shop Act MAITRI Portal is part of a much larger consolidation — MAITRI 2.0 covers roughly 119 services across 15 departments, not just Shop Act. If your business also needs other state-level approvals (pollution consent, fire NOC, depending on your business type), those may now route through the same portal.
What This Means If You’re Mid-Setup
If you’re registering a new business right now and Shop Act registration is on your checklist, just start at maitri.maharashtra.gov.in directly and skip the older guides circulating online — most of them, ours included until recently, still pointed at Aaplesarkar.
We handle company and business registration paperwork — Shop Act, GST, PAN/TAN, the lot — as part of new client onboarding, so this kind of portal migration doesn’t become your problem to track. If you’d rather hand off a stuck application, a fresh registration, or just want someone to confirm where your old application actually landed, get in touch.Call or WhatsApp: +91 7448200422 Email: info@taxkitab.com Website: taxkitab.com Or visit our Contact page — and if you’re setting up a new business entirely, see our Company Registration service.
