A Parliamentary panel today termed the expression "reasonably practicable" used in the prevention of money laundering laws as "vague" and suggested that the rules should be made precise and specific.
A Parliamentary Panel on subordinate legislation noted that the expression 'reasonably practicable' used in the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) (Amendment) Rules, 2013 is "vague" and is contrary to the oft-repeated recommendation of the committee that use of vague expressions which are likely to be interpreted variedly should be avoided in the rules.
The committee recommended that the Ministry of Finance "may make the rules precise and specific" by setting a time limit for the reporting entity to complete the verification by replacing the vague expression 'reasonably practicable'.
It also take note of the fact that since the issue is related to money laundering and terrorist funding, it is directly linked to economy as well as internal security of the country.
It also said that the ministry in their reply itself have stated that they are in discussions with various regulators for setting up a time limit which justifies gravity and relevance of the issues raised by the committee.
