"Struggling to prepare" Jan Vishwas 2.0, Piyush Goyal says citing lack of ideas from India Inc

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, on July 10, said that he is "struggling to prepare Jan Vishwas II" amid lack of ideas and suggestions from industry as well as in ministerial consultations.

Goyal is referring to the upgrades that the government is looking at with regard to the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2023, which seeks to further address challenges to ease of doing business in India.

As per the bill, passed in the Lok Sabha in June and the Rajya Sabha in August 2023, a total of 183 provisions will be decriminalised in 42 Central Acts administered by 19 ministries or departments.

Speaking at an event on July 10 in New Delhi, Goyal said that the government is working on making the India investment journey easier by reducing the compliance burden and decriminalisation of laws. However, he raised concerns over fewer ideas from the industry on this.

Goyal also urged industry and associations to be far more demanding and proactive in sending suggestions to the government.

On June 27, Moneycontrol reported citing a government official that Jan Vishwas II has been almost finalised and the Union Budget may decriminalise over 100 provisions across multiple laws, including the Income Tax Act, in the second edition of the bill.

The full Budget for FY25 will be presented on July 23.

The Bill seeks to put an end to criminal proceedings and imprisonment for minor offences, replacing them with monetary penalties.

The changes aim to boost investor confidence and offer relief to courts overburdened with cases for minor offences, such as delayed payment of tax deducted at source.

In 2023, an inter-ministerial working group, comprising officials of the finance ministry, NITI Aayog, the labour ministry, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, was tasked to accelerate the identification of provisions that can be decriminalised in various laws. The working group consisted of 22 members divided into sub-groups from various ministries to study the provisions under these laws.

Later, the working group was turned into an inter-ministerial committee with senior officials from the ministries.