Industry has supported the national initiative of ease of Doing Business and Govt. is working to take EoDB to the next level: Sh. Goyal

DPIIT- CII National Conference on Ease of Doing Business

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal in his inaugural address at the 'DPIIT-CII National Conference on Ease of Doing Business' held in New Delhi yesterday said that Aspirational Young India will spur the future growth of India.

Shri Goyal said that the foundational economic reforms undertaken by the Government has ensured that India moved from fragile 5 to top 5 economies in the last 5 years. The Minister lauded the Industry for supporting the national initiative of Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and said that the Government is working to take EoDB to the next level.

'National Conference on Ease of Doing Business' was held at New Delhi on 8th November 2023. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), a nodal department for Ease of Doing Business organized the conference in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The Conference covered many important areas relating to Ease of Doing Business. Sessions regarding Ease of Doing Business way Forward, National Single Window System, Strengthening Dispute Resolution mechanism, Easing Paying Taxes and customs procedures were part of the conference. Sessions involved participation from representatives of States, Central Ministries and industry.

Session 1 on EODB Reforms – Journey so far and way forward was chaired by Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh.  Secretary, DPIIT in his keynote address covered initiatives by DPIIT related to EODB (state rankings and reforms), NSWS, minimizing compliance burden (Jan Vishwas Bill), Preparations for Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0, Cost of regulation and briefed on upcoming World Bank B-Ready framework. He further encouraged the industry to work more closely on all initiatives and share suggestions. Mr. Ajay Shriram, MD, DCM Shriram Limited and Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero enterprise shared industry concerns. Shri Navneet Mohan Kothari, MD, MP Industrial Development Corporation, Govt. of MP and Shri Sandeep Sagle, Commissioner, Industries and Commerce department, Govt. of Gujarat made presentations on States’s best practices, effective and simplified Single window portal and implementation of EODB reforms.

Session 2 on National Single Window system – One stop solution for all approvals/renewals was chaired by Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Ms. Manmeet Nanda. She encouraged the industry members and SMEs to utilize the National Single Window system for obtaining complete guidance on identifying and applying for approvals according to the business requirements. She also sought feedback for improving user experience and to achieve the goal of making this platform a true, genuine National Single Window. Senior government officials from the State governments of Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland and Central Ministries (Ministry of Labour & Employment and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) addressed the audience and enumerated various initiatives led by their respective departments enabling ease of doing business and highlighted on the positive feedback received from the industry users from ease of usage post the integration of respective departmental services on NSWS.

In Session 3, strengthening dispute resolution mechanism, discussions were held on streamlining the enforcing contracts mechanism, Decriminalization of Business Laws, Strengthening the role of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Ecosystem. For Decriminalization, it was highlighted that discussions have been held on future implementation of retrospective applications of provisions that would be beneficial in reducing burden on courts. The discussions revolved around reducing the government litigation through systematic change in attitude and delaying of cases by officers, restricting the time for arguments and looking into limiting the number of adjournments, increasing the number of courts, tribunal and judges.

In Session 4, Easing Paying Taxes and Customs Procedures, discussions were held on Minimizing Tax Litigation, improving processes involved in refund/credit/returns, Rationalizing Procedural Compliances in GST, Streamlining and expediting the Customs processes and procedures.

Ease of Doing Business reforms prioritise National Single Window adoption and decriminalisation to reduce compliance burdens. The conference emphasised regulatory reforms under the Ease of Doing Business agenda, prioritising the National Single Window System for integrated approvals, industry adoption and user feedback, state best practices for single window implementation, and measures to reduce compliance burdens. It also focused on decriminalisation of business laws and strengthening dispute resolution-via ADR, limiting adjournments and expanding courts/tribunals-to reduce litigation, alongside streamlining tax and customs procedures to minimise procedural litigation and improve refunds and returns.