The Jan Vishwas Bill, which was cleared by the federal cabinet on July 12, will pave the way for decriminalisation of more offences across ministries, according to Rishi Agrawal, chief executive and co-founder of TeamLease RegTech.
“This has set a precedent for phase 2, 3 and 4 of this bill. This is the first time that via one bill government has approached mindless criminalisation in 43 different acts,” Agrawal, who was part of a panel which wrote the bill, told Moneycontrol.
Agrawal and Gautam Chikermane, Vice President of Observer Research Foundation, in February 2022 pointed out issues with India’s business laws in an article.
The Jan Vishwas Bill, which seeks decriminalisation of 187 provisions of 42 different laws, was introduced in Lok Sabha in December 2022. As many as 113 provisions of the bill pertain to ease of doing business, setting a precedent, Agrawal said.
The bill, once passed by the parliament, will create space for more such bills, he added.
Agarwal is open to continue working with the government on these reforms.
What is the Jan Vishwas Bill?
The Jan Vishwas Bill amends 42 acts to reduce compliance for businesses.
Acts such as the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, and the Information Technology Act, 2000, will be amended.
Many offences, some leading to imprisonment, will be decriminalised and replaced with just a monetary penalty.
For instance, under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937, counterfeiting grade designation marks is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 5,000. The Bill intends to replace this with a penalty of Rs 8 lakh.
According to the Economic Survey 2022-23, decriminalisation of minor economic offences under the Companies Act of 2013 has led to 400,000 companies willingly rectifying their past defaults to avoid penalties. Furthermore, after the reform, more than 1,400 default cases have been decided without going to a court of law.
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