Centre Introduces ‘Jan Vishwas Bill’ To Boost Ease of Business by Decriminalising Minor Offences, All You Need to Know
Contents News/Article Date: 23rd December 2022
Relating to which Act: The 4 Labour Codes and forward continuation thereof with a slew of reforms and measures
Applicable to which State: All the States and Establishments covered by the specific Acts mentioned in the Jan Vishwas Bill
Type: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday in Lok Sabha introduced the Jan Vishwas Bill, which seeks to decriminalize minor offenses by amending 183 provisions in 42 Acts with a view to promote ease of business.
Pertains to: Employers and Employees and all relative stakeholders
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In this instance, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday introduced the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022, to decriminalize minor offenses to promote ease of business. Besides the decriminalization of minor offenses, the bill envisages the rationalization of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offense, bolstering trust-based governance.
“Yet another novelty involved in the proposal is an increase of 10 percent of the minimum amount of fine and penalty levied, after the expiry of every three years, once the bill becomes a law,” according to the statement of objects and reasons.
The bill was later referred to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament for scrutiny.
Subject: Piyush Goyal Introduces a Bill to Decriminalise Minor Offences to Promote Ease of Doing Business
For greater details, appended below is the complete news item
Piyush Goyal Introduces a Bill to Decriminalise Minor Offences to Promote Ease of Doing Business
Besides the decriminalization of minor offenses, the bill envisages the rationalization of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offense, bolstering trust-based governance
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday in Lok Sabha introduced the Jan Vishwas Bill, which seeks to decriminalize minor offenses by amending 183 provisions in 42 Acts with a view to promote ease of business.
The bill was later referred to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament for scrutiny.
It proposes to amend 183 provisions across 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries.
Introducing the bill, Goyal said that there are many laws in the country, under which punishment provisions are there for minor offenses, and for that people have to approach courts.
“We have to trust people. For minor mistakes, people should not be penalized. For minor offenses, there should be a provision for paying fines,” he said.
He added that the government has taken a series of measures to promote ease of doing business.
About 1,500 old laws have been repealed, 39,000 compliances have been simplified and about 3,500 norms were introduced to decriminalize offenses, the minister said.
The proposed law, she said, “will also help in reducing the burden on the judiciary”.
The bill was introduced amid protests by the Opposition who were demanding a discussion on the border issue with China.
Besides the decriminalization of minor offenses, the bill envisages the rationalization of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offense, bolstering trust-based governance.
“Yet another novelty involved in the proposal is an increase of 10 percent of the minimum amount of fine and penalty levied, after the expiry of every three years, once the bill becomes a law,” according to the statement of objects and reasons.
It added that India needs to shed the baggage of antiquated laws that adversely affect developmental trajectory.
“The government is committed to making India the most preferred global investment destination by boosting investor confidence. The fear of imprisonment for minor offenses is a major factor hampering the growth of the business ecosystem and individual confidence,” it said.
Decriminalization of a large number of minor offences by replacing them with monetary penalties has been identified.
“Settlement of a large number of issues, by compounding method, adjudication and administrative mechanism, without involving courts, will enable persons to remedy minor contraventions and defaults, sometimes committed unknowingly by them, and save time, energy and resources,” it said.
The Acts which are being amended include The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940; Public Debt Act, 1944; Pharmacy Act, 1948; Cinematograph Act, 1952; Copyright Act, 1957; Patents Act, 1970; Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; and Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The other laws include the Trade Marks Act, 1999; Railways Act, 1989; Information Technology Act, 2000; Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002; Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006; Legal Metrology Act, 2009; and Factoring Regulation Act, 2011
These 42 laws are administered by various Union ministries, including finance, food production and distribution, financial services, agriculture, commerce, environment, road transport and highways, ports, electronics, and IT
The members from the Lok Sabha include P P Chaudhary, Sanjay Jaiswal, Rajendra Agrawal, Poonam Pramod Mahajan, Gaurav Gogoi, A Raja, and Sougata Ray. The names of 10 members of the Rajya Sabha will be announced later.
The committee will be required to submit its report to this House in the second part of the Budget session, 2023.