Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has indicated that the government is looking to bring a Jan Vishwas Bill-2 in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament. The government is seeking suggestions from the industry and other stakeholders on this.
Goyal stated that the bill aims to provide relief to startups, MSMEs and small businesses by reducing paperwork and compliance burden. However, he clarified that Jan Vishwas Bill-3 may be needed despite the best of efforts.
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The Jan Vishwas Bill had decriminalised minor offences by bringing them from the ambit of the judiciary to the ambit of administration. Many such minor offences used to attract jail terms or penalties for non-compliance.
Pointing out that the government is looking at ways to ease restrictions on SEZ (Special Economic Zones) units, Goyal added that deliberations and discussions with stakeholders are underway with an aim to boost prospects of SEZ units. With certain curbs on duty-free domestic sale of products, SEZs are currently considered foreign territories for levy of customs duties as per Indian law.
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Several companies located in SEZs have sought exemption from customs duties to sell their products within India. Informing that the government will move “cautiously” on the industry’s demand for extension of benefits of the RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products) scheme to SEZs, he said that the demand will be considered once the government is confident of not falling foul of World Trade Organization (WTO) norms with the move.
While the minister called for grant of extended approvals to incentivise companies using the National Single Window portal to approach the government for permissions, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh pointed out that the industry is still not using the portal enough and is still resorting to intermediaries.
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While the secretary indicated that the government would work on laying down the framework for regulatory impact assessment, he informed that the World Bank is already working on a “be ready” framework for Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) after “facing a scam with China”, where reports of data manipulation to rig rankings had emerged.
