Jan Vishwas Bill

Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2022 promotes ease of doing business by decriminalising minor offences in 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries, with a view to promote ease of business, as per the sources. It aims to reduce compliance burden on companies for the ease of doing business.

Let’s understand What’s in Jan Vishwas Bill 2022?

The Bill is put forward by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) after receiving recommendations from industry bodies and key stakeholders. The 108-page Bill as introduced in the Lok Sabha proposes to amend 183 provisions across 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries. It proposes to decriminalise a large number of minor offences by replacing them with monetary penalties.

These are administered by 19 ministries, including finance, food production and distribution, financial services, agriculture, commerce, environment, road transport & highways, posts, electronics, and IT. Besides seeking decriminalisation of minor offences, it also envisages the rationalisation of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offence.

The bill further elaborates, that there are many laws in the country under which punishment provisions are there for minor offences and for that people have to approach courts. "The fear of imprisonment for minor offences is a major factor hampering the growth of the business ecosystem and individual confidence.

The Bill converts several fines to penalties, meaning that court prosecution is not necessary to administer punishments. It also removes imprisonment as a punishment for many offences. All offences under the Post Office Act, 1898 are being removed.

In the Bill’s ‘statement and objectives’, "A web of outdated rules and regulations causes trust deficit. It has been the endeavour of the government to achieve the principle of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance', redefining the regulatory landscape of the country under the Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business reforms."

The government has taken a series of measures to promote ease of doing business, and about 1,500 old laws have been repealed, 39,000 compliances have been simplified and about 3,500 norms were introduced to decriminalise offences.

Besides decriminalisation of minor offences, the Bill also envisages the rationalisation of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offence. According to the statement of objects and reasons, Yet another novelty involved in the proposal is an increase of 10 per cent of the minimum amount of fine and penalty levied, after the expiry of every three years, once the bill becomes a law.

S Mohini Ratna, Editor, VARINDIA