Maharashtra's Lift Act 2017 Has Never Come Into Force

Published September 26, 2026 · Last updated September 29, 2026 · 11 min read

maharashtra lift act

By Mr. Sumeet Katariya, ElevatorPlus · Statutory positions read from the Acts and Rules, September 2026

In short: The Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Act, 2017 has never been brought into force, so its twenty year working licence is not Maharashtra law. Lifts in Maharashtra run under the Maharashtra Lifts Act, X of 1939 and the Bombay Lift Rules, 1958. Permission to erect lasts six months, not one year. Inspection is at least once in six months, not once a year. Karnataka gives ten years, Kerala three then annual.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm the current position with the state authority or your own lawyer before relying on it.

Key takeaways

The twenty year licence everybody quotes sits in an Act that is not in force. Section 8 of the 2017 Act does say twenty years. Section 1(3) leaves commencement to a notification, and none has issued.
What governs is the Maharashtra Lifts Act, X of 1939, with the Bombay Lift Rules, 1958. Section 39 of the 2017 Act repeals the 1939 Act only "on the commencement of this Act". No commencement, no repeal.
The intervals are wrong in both directions. Permission to erect lasts six months under section 4 of the 1939 Act, not one year. Inspection is at least once in six months under section 11, not once a year.
The 1939 Act as printed states no licence validity term. Section 7 says a lift may be worked only in conformity with the terms of its licence. The period, if there is one, is on the licence document.
The record duty is real, and it is monthly. Rule 6(ix) of the 1958 Rules requires a log book at each lift for every repair and alteration. Rule 6(xi) requires the contractor's monthly checks to be entered in it.
Karnataka and Kerala are unaffected. Karnataka's 2012 Act gives ten years under section 5, renewable every five. Kerala's 2013 Act, as amended by Act 14 of 2018, gives three years under section 4(5), then annual renewal.

What this guide covers: the law that governs Maharashtra · how the twenty year figure got loose · what the March 2026 amendment Act did and did not do · the evidence that the 2017 Act never commenced · permission, notice and inspection · why no licence term is stated · maintenance and the log book duty under the 1958 Rules · a three state comparison · what to do this week · FAQs

What actually governs a lift in Maharashtra today?

Two instruments. The Maharashtra Lifts Act, X of 1939, and the Bombay Lift Rules, 1958 made under it.

The shape is familiar. Permission to erect, notice when the work is finished, a licence to work the lift, then inspection on a fixed interval. What is not familiar is how short the clocks are, because most guidance online has swapped in numbers from a different statute.

Section 4 is plain. An owner intending to install a lift "shall make an application to such officer as the State Government may authorise in this behalf for permission to erect such lift", and "Such permission shall be valid only for a period of six months from the date on which it is granted."

Six months. Not twelve.

Section 5(1) requires the owner, "within one month after the completion of the erection of such lift", to deliver notice in writing of completion and apply for a licence for working the lift.

Section 7 carries the prohibition: "no lift shall be worked except under and in conformity with the terms of the licence granted in respect of the same".

Section 11 sets the official interval: "Every lift shall be inspected at least once in six months by an officer authorised in this behalf by the State Government." Twice a year, not once.

Section 13 sets the penalty: a fine "which may extend to five hundred rupees and, in the case of a continuing contravention with an additional fine which may extend to fifty rupees for every day". Those are 1939 numbers and they read like it. The daily element still bites.

How did the twenty year figure get loose?

Because the 2017 Act exists, is published, is easy to find, and reads like a modern replacement should. It sets out a whole modern regime: a twenty year working licence under section 8, annual inspection under section 17, a maintenance contract with an approved contractor under section 18, a fifty thousand rupee penalty under section 32. All of it is really in the statute book. None of it is in force.

One more source of confusion, and it is newer. In March 2026 the legislature passed the Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks (Amendment) Act, 2026, published in the Maharashtra Government Gazette Extraordinary on 25 March 2026 after the Governor's assent. It is a real Act, and people are right to say so. It is also not in force, and it does not bring the 2017 Act into force either. What it does, for the day the 2017 Act is finally switched on, is move licensing from the Chief Electrical Inspector to regional Superintending Engineers. Until that day it changes nothing on the ground. An amendment to an Act that has never commenced cannot commence it.

How do we know the 2017 Act has never come into force?

Here is the chain, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

One. The repeal is conditional on commencement. Section 39 of the 2017 Act reads: "On the commencement of this Act the Maharashtra Lifts Act shall stand repealed." The replacement only happens at commencement.

Two. The State was still using the 1939 Act in April 2025. On 28 April 2025 the Industries, Energy, Labour and Mining Department, Mantralaya, issued notification No. CEI-2025/C.R.45/Energy-1. Its enabling clause reads: "In exercise of the powers conferred by section 10 of Maharashtra Lifts Act (X of 1939), the Government of Maharashtra hereby delegates the powers conferred on it under section 4, sub-section (3) of section 5 and sub-section (2) of section 6 read with sub-section (3) of section 5 of said Act".

A State cannot delegate powers under an Act that a commenced 2017 Act would have repealed. That is the State treating the 1939 Act as live law, in a signed instrument.

Three. The consolidated text still publishes the 1939 Act as current. India Code carries it as "THE MAHARASHTRA LIFTS ACT [Text as on 17th July 2025]", with no repeal footnote and a printed amendment list ending "Amended by Mah. 24 of 2012 (20-8-2012)".

Four. The State's own bare act says so. The Law and Judiciary Department bare act carries a footnote against section 1(3): "This Act has not come into force till 1st January 2019."

Five. No rules were ever made under the 2017 Act. The only lift rules Maharashtra publishes are the Bombay Lift Rules, 1958, made under the 1939 Act. An Act whose machinery depends on prescribed forms and fees cannot be running when no such rules exist.

Six. The administration runs on the 1939 Act. The Chief Electrical Inspector's own live lift inspection forms cite only the 1939 Act and the 1958 Rules. That is the office that issues the licences, naming the statute it issues them under.

Seven. No court has applied it. There is no reported judgment applying the 2017 Act.

Now the honest limit, because a proof chain with a soft edge is worth more stated than hidden. The documentary evidence runs to 17 July 2025. For the period since, we have no evidence of commencement and none of rules, which is an inference rather than a document.

How long is a Maharashtra lift licence valid?

The 1939 Act as printed does not say. Neither do the 1958 Rules as read, and they set no renewal deadline either.

That is the honest answer, and it beats a confident wrong number. The Act creates the licence and prohibits working a lift except in conformity with its terms (section 7). So the period, if your licence carries one, is on the licence. Go and read it.

Do not assume. Do not carry twenty years across from the 2017 Act, or ten years from Karnataka, or three from Kerala. And do not apply the "at least thirty days prior to the date of expiry" rule quoted for Maharashtra. It sits in section 5 of the 2017 Act, which is not in force, and even there it attaches to the contractor's licence, not the owner's. It is doubly the wrong rule.

What do the Bombay Lift Rules, 1958 require on maintenance?

The maintenance obligation is real, and it has a shape people miss. Rule 6(v) provides: "Unless the licensee, in the opinion of the Inspector of Lifts, has suitable means for satisfactory maintenance of the lift, the licensee shall entrust the maintenance...to an approved manufacturer".

Read the conditional carefully. The default is that maintenance goes to an approved manufacturer. The way out is not a declaration by the licensee. It is an opinion formed by the Inspector of Lifts. A large estate with qualified lift staff might satisfy that. A housing society with a helpful caretaker will not.

Two record duties sit in the same rule, and both are live law today. Rule 6(ix): "The licensee shall enter every repair and alteration to the lift in a log book which shall be maintained in each lift installation." Rule 6(xi) requires the licensee to see that the contractor carries out cleaning and lubricating the guides, examining the ropes and their attachments, the safety devices, the door locks, all moving parts and the worm and gear, at least once a month, "and the result entered in the log book by the contractor".

So Maharashtra does require a log book per lift, with monthly contractor entries. Nothing in the Rules as read expressly orders you to produce it. Section 8-A of the 1939 Act gets there another way: the owner must afford all reasonable facilities to the inspecting officer and, when ordered, procure the attendance of the maintenance contractor at that inspection, at the owner's own cost. A monthly entry nobody made is a conversation you have standing next to the lift.

Rule 9A deals with fees: "Annual fees for the inspection of lifts shall be paid either prior to inspection or within ten days from the date of inspection." That is often misread as an annual inspection cycle. It is a fee rule. The interval is in section 11, and it is six monthly.

How does Maharashtra compare with Karnataka and Kerala?

The comparison is more interesting now, not less, because Maharashtra is the outlier in the opposite direction from the one everybody assumes. It has the tightest official inspection interval of the three and no stated licence term at all. The last row is deliberate: it shows what the twenty years actually is, so you can see why you were told it.

State and instrument	Permission to erect	Operating licence validity	Renewal cycle	Renewal deadline	Owner's maintenance duty	Official inspection interval
Maharashtra, operative. Maharashtra Lifts Act, X of 1939, with the Bombay Lift Rules, 1958	Six months from the date granted (s.4)	Not stated in the Act or the Rules as read. Work the lift only in conformity with the terms of its licence (s.7), so read the licence itself	Not stated	Not stated	Maintenance entrusted to an approved manufacturer unless the Inspector of Lifts is of the opinion that the licensee has suitable means (r.6(v)). Log book at each lift for every repair and alteration, with the contractor's monthly checks entered in it (r.6(ix), r.6(xi)). Notice plus licence application within one month after erection (s.5(1))	At least once in six months, by an officer authorised by the State Government (s.11)
Karnataka, operative. Karnataka Lifts, Escalators and Passenger Conveyors Act, 2012, with the Rules of 2015	Twelve months from grant (s.3(3))	Ten years from grant (s.5)	A further period of every five years, on application, with fee and conditions as prescribed (s.5)	Three months before expiry, in Form C1, with the registered person's test certificate in Form C2 for a lift or Form C3 for an escalator or passenger conveyor (r.5(1))	Tested and maintained by a registered person once in every three months under a contract agreement, to Bureau of Indian Standards or International Electrotechnical Commission codes (s.14(3), r.12(4)(i)). Contract covers cleaning, oiling, adjusting and repairing (s.15(1))	Once in a year, by the authorised officer or Inspector (r.17(1))
Kerala, operative. Kerala Lifts and Escalators Act, 2013 (Act 18 of 2013), as amended by Act 14 of 2018	One year, extendable one more year on an application stating sufficient reasons (s.3(3))	Three years from grant (s.4(5))	Annually thereafter (s.4(5))	Not less than three months before the date of expiry (s.6(1))	No log book, register or maintenance report required by the Act or the 2012 Rules, and no test interval prescribed for the maintainer. Completion report within one month after erection (s.3(4))	The Electrical Inspector may conduct an inspection every year (s.4(5A))
Maharashtra, NOT IN FORCE. Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Act, 2017 (Mah. XV of 2018). Shown because these are the figures misquoted as current law	One year, extendable six months at a time (s.4)	Twenty years from grant (s.8)	Not more than five years at a time (s.8)	The thirty day pre-expiry rule in s.5 belongs to the contractor's licence, not the owner's	Contract with an approved contractor for satisfactory maintenance, including cleaning, oiling, adjusting and repairing (s.18)	At least once in a year, or earlier if the Government specifies (s.17)

Three things fall out. Kerala asks earliest, three months before expiry, against the shortest licence. Karnataka asks most of the owner, quarterly testing through a registered person. Maharashtra, once you use the right statute, has the State's inspector attend twice a year. Kerala's headline fine is the lightest of the three, but the tail is not. Section 15 sets a fine of five thousand rupees extending to ten thousand, then a further fine of up to five hundred rupees for every day the contravention continues after conviction, and imprisonment of up to three months where it is still continuing after thirty days.

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What should an owner or contractor in Maharashtra do this week?

Five things, none of them expensive.

Read your actual licence. Not a summary. The document. Note the issuing office, the date, any stated period and every condition printed on it. Section 7 makes those conditions the thing you work in conformity with.

Reset your inspection calendar to six months. If your reminders run on twelve months because someone read section 17 of the 2017 Act, they are on the wrong cycle.

Reset permission to erect to six months. Check the grant date against the build programme. Six months goes quickly on a project that slips once.

Check the notice after completion. One month after erection is complete, in writing, with the licence application. The installer holds the completion date and the owner carries the duty, which is how these go missing.

Settle your position under rule 6(v). Either maintenance is entrusted to an approved manufacturer, or the Inspector of Lifts is of the opinion that you have suitable means. If you rely on the second, be ready to say when that opinion was formed.

And stop quoting twenty years internally. If it is in your handover pack or your customer emails, it is telling clients something untrue about their own position.

How do you check whether commencement has happened since?

Two places. First, the Maharashtra Government Gazette, where a notification under sub-section (3) of section 1 of the 2017 Act would have to be published to have effect. Second, the Chief Electrical Inspector's site, because forms change when the governing statute changes.

A third route settles it in writing. An application to the Public Information Officer of the Industries, Energy, Labour and Mining Department, Mantralaya, asking whether any notification has issued under sub-section (3) of section 1 of Mah. XV of 2018, produces a document for your file.

If any of those shows a commencement notification, the position here changes, the 1939 Act stands repealed from that date, and the twenty year licence becomes real. Until then it is not.

Frequently asked questions

1. Is the Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Act, 2017 in force?

No. Commencement depends on a notification under section 1(3) and none has issued. The State's own bare act footnotes that it had not come into force till 1 January 2019, the State was still exercising powers under the 1939 Act in April 2025, no rules have ever been made under the 2017 Act, and the Chief Electrical Inspector's live forms cite the 1939 Act and the 1958 Rules.

2. How long is a lift working licence valid in Maharashtra?

The 1939 Act as printed states no validity term, and the 1958 Rules as read state none either. Section 7 requires a lift to be worked only in conformity with the terms of its licence, so read your licence document. The twenty years often quoted is section 8 of the 2017 Act, which is not in force.

3. Has the Maharashtra Lifts Act, 1939 been repealed?

No. Section 39 of the 2017 Act repeals it on the commencement of that Act. The 2017 Act has not commenced, so the repeal has not taken effect.

4. Did the March 2026 amendment change Maharashtra lift law?

No. The Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks (Amendment) Act, 2026 received the Governor's assent and was published in the Gazette on 25 March 2026. It is an Act, but it has not been brought into force, and it does not commence the 2017 Act. It amends the 2017 Act, which is itself not in force, chiefly by moving licensing from the Chief Electrical Inspector to regional Superintending Engineers.

5. Does Maharashtra require a lift log book?

Yes. Rule 6(ix) of the Bombay Lift Rules, 1958 requires the licensee to enter every repair and alteration in a log book maintained at each lift installation, and rule 6(xi) requires the contractor's monthly checks to be entered in it by the contractor. Those Rules are in force today.

6. How often must a lift be inspected in Maharashtra?

At least once in six months, by an officer authorised by the State Government, under section 11 of the 1939 Act. The once a year figure people quote is section 17 of the 2017 Act.

7. How long does permission to erect a lift last in Maharashtra?

Six months from the date it is granted, under section 4 of the 1939 Act. The one year figure is section 4 of the 2017 Act.

8. Do I have to renew a Maharashtra lift licence thirty days before it expires?

That rule is in section 5 of the 2017 Act, and even there it applies to the contractor's licence, not the owner's. Neither the 1939 Act nor the 1958 Rules as read set a renewal deadline. Check what your own licence says.

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Maharashtra has the most quoted lift statute in India and the least accurate reporting of it. The twenty year licence, the annual inspection, the fifty thousand rupee fine and the thirty day renewal rule all come from one place: an Act that has never been switched on, and which an amendment Act of March 2026, itself not in force, has not switched on either.

The operative law is older and, in the ways that generate work, stricter. Permission lasts half as long. The inspector comes twice as often. The licence carries no stated term, so the only document that tells you when your obligations fall due is the one in your own file.

Nobody set out to mislead anyone. The 2017 Act looks like the answer, and checking whether a published Act was ever commenced is not something most people think to do.

If you take one action from this article, make it the inspection interval. Six months, not twelve. A missed statutory inspection shows up in the worst possible circumstances, and it is the failure this misreading most reliably causes.

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