Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 speech that the government would introduce the Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 to decriminalise over 100 outdated legal provisions to achieve greater ease of doing business in the country.
The existing Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 has decriminalised 183 Central Acts administered across a spectrum of 19 Ministries or Departments.
The key objective of the Jan Vishwas Act 2023 was to remove archaic provisions that did not serve the evolving technological and business environment.
The Jan Vishwas 2.0 intends to further usher in comprehensive reforms aimed to unburden the judiciary and reduce litigation time and costs. It would introduce civil penalties and administrative actions for minor technical and procedural lapses.
The Minister’s announcement on Saturday (February 1, 2025) follows a Ministry of Commerce and Industry statement in September 2024 that the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade was “working on about 100 rules and laws of various departments of government to bring Jan Vishwas 2.0 Bill”. The September 2024 statement had termed Jan Vishwas 2.0 a “major step towards aligning India’s regulatory framework with global business standards, promoting investor confidence, and facilitating smoother business operations”.
The 2023 Act had brought in measures such as pragmatic revision of fines and penalties commensurate to the offence committed; establishment of adjudicating officers and appellate authorities; and the periodic increase in quantum of fine and penalties.
Section 3 of the 2023 Act provided that the fines and penalties of the 42 Central Acts would be increased by 10% every three years.
The 2023 Act covers amendments in statutes across a span of over 100 years. These include the Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867, the Indian Post Office Act of 1898, the Boilers Act of 1923, the Indian Forest Act 1927 to the more recent laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) of 2016.
In August 2023, a few days before the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 received the President’s assent, the government had explained that this law was an endeavour to establish a balance between the severity of the offence and the gravity of the prescribed punishment. It was a step to ensure that businesses and citizens adhere to the law without the law losing its rigour.
Published – February 01, 2025 07:40 pm IST
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