Lok Sabha passes Jan Vishwas Bill to promote ease of doing business

The Lok Sabha on Thursday approved the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023, to enhance ease of doing business, decrease compliance burden for individuals and industry, and alleviate judicial load by decriminalising minor economic offences.

Spearheaded by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Bill proposes to revise 183 provisions across 42 laws under 19 government ministries.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha. It will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for approval, after which it will require the President's assent to become law.

At present, existing laws contain clauses for imprisonment for minor and procedural defaults, as well as lesser fines and penalties. This resulted in fear and mistrust towards the government. The intended changes of this proposed law aim to avoid unnecessary imprisonments and impose higher penalties and fines where necessary.

 

According to the Bill, offences will be decriminalised by either eliminating both imprisonment and/or fine; removing imprisonment while retaining or increasing fines; or changing imprisonment and/or fine to penalties. Conversion of fines into penalties implies that court prosecution can be bypassed for punishment.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Goyal said the government over the past nine years removed roughly 40,000 provisions and procedures, which had the potential to create problems for people.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022, was first introduced to the Lok Sabha on December 22, 2022. On the same day, the Bill was referred to a joint committee of both Houses, which submitted its report in the Lok Sabha on March 20, 2023.

According to the joint committee's report on the Bill, fear of imprisonment for minor offences significantly hampers business ecosystem growth and undermines entrepreneurs’ confidence. “Reducing the compliance burden also promotes business process reengineering and improves people’s ease of living... India needs to discard vintage laws that were hampering the nation’s development and contradict the government's philosophy," the report said.

Some of the Acts that are proposed to be amended:

• Indian Post Office Act, 1898

• The Boilers Act, 1923

• The Agriculture Produce Act, 1937

• Public Debt Act, 1944

• The Pharmacy Act, 1948

• Environment Protection Act, 1986

• The Information Technology Act, 2000