The Winter Session, 2022 of the Parliament provided 13 sittings spread over a period of 17 days. During the Session, a total of 9 Bills had been passed by both Houses of Parliament, while Two Bill namely “the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022” and “the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022” were referred to the Joint Committees of both Houses of Parliament.
Quasi-decriminalization strategy to boost businesses
The Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal on 22nd December, 2022 introduced the Jan Vishwas Bill, in the Lok Sabha. The progressive Bill seeks to solidify the foundations of promoting the ease of doing business in the nation. Through the Bill, the government intends to decriminalise ‘minor offences’ by amending 183 provisions in the existing 42 central legislation, administered by 19 of the Ministries. Following the introduction in the Lok Sabha, the Bill was referred to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament for scrutiny, before the Parliament was adjourned sine die on the 23rd of December, 2022.
The “Quasi-decriminalization” proposal has been mooted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and is aimed at taking the reform agenda to the next level. Through the legislation, the government plans to reduce the overall compliance burden for businesses and citizens alike.
The move was initiated after various industrial bodies furnished DPIIT with findings and suggestions regarding numerous outdated criminal provisions in current legal milieu of the nation. Further, after carrying out a comprehensive consultation with all the key stakeholders, the department came up with a ‘four-pronged strategy’ of ‘simplification, digitization, decriminalization of provisions for minor offences and elimination of redundant laws/rules’ to meets the ends of ease of doing business.
Vision behind the Jan Vishwas Bill, 2022
The Jan Vishwas Bill, 2022 seeks to replace many infractions that are currently criminalized with monetary sanctions. While introducing the Bill in the Parliament, Union Minister, Piyush Goyal proposed the intention of the government to ‘not penalize the citizens for minor offences with captivity’. The learned Minister put forth the proposal to incorporate ‘monetary sanctions’ based on ‘gravity of the offense’.
With the initiate, the government seeks to repeal 1,500 archaic provisions of law along with simplifying around 39,000 compliances. Further, through the proposed Bill, the Government has taken a series of measures to promote ease of doing business by calling back about 3,500 norms, to decriminalize minor offences related to various significant legislations. Consequently, the move is further aimed at “reducing the burden on judiciary”.
The government is of the view that the ‘fear of imprisonment for minor offenses’ has been significantly hampering the growth prospects of the business ecosystem in the nation. The claim of the government can be substantiated by the Jailed for Doing Business report. The report highlights that there are 843 economic laws, rules and regulations that aim at controlling enterprises and economic activity in India, with more than 26,134 clauses that provides for jail.
Bill to boast ‘individual confidence’ and eradicated the ‘trust deficit’
With the intention to boast ‘individual confidence’, the government seeks to break the ‘web of outdated rules and regulations’ that had been the major cause of ‘trust deficit’ in the economy. The policy draft is in line with the vision of PM Modi, to provide ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’. The Union Minister, Piyush Goyal has emphasized that it is imperative for the government to redefine the regulatory landscape of the country under the Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business reforms.
Mr. Goyal further claimed that a significant barrier to India’s economic development and people’s confidence is their dread of being imprisoned for relatively small offences. By replacing minor offences with monetary sanctions, the Jan Vishwas Bill seeks to alleviate this problem. The bill also suggests that, if it is passed into law, the minimum fine and penalty assessed after every three years be increased by 10%. Thus, it would be the gravity of the offense that would determine the scale of punishment.
Key Highlights of the Bill
The Jan Vishwas Bill therefore, is aimed at enhancing the ‘Jan Vishwas’ of the citizens to facilitate the growth of the domestic industry. The legislation seeks to not only rationalize the monetary punishments based on the seriousness of the offences, but also seeks to decriminalize minor offences.
The key provisions of the Bill include the ‘decriminalizing certain offences’ as it replaces the existing provision with enhanced number of monetary sanctions. That is to say, it aims to ‘revise the amounts of fines and penalties’ by enhancing the minimum amount every three years by 10%.
Further, the Bill provides for the ‘appointing adjudicating officers’ by the Central Government for the purpose of determining penalties. The said adjudicating officers may summon individuals for evidence and conduct inquiries into violations of the respected Acts.
Lastly, the Bill also specifies the appellate mechanisms for any person aggrieved by the order passed by an adjudicating officer. Thus, providing for appropriate reforms needed to upgrade the legal ecosystem in accordance with the needs of the contemporary business environment.
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