Budget 2015-16 and key legislative changes

From laws to contain generation of black money to a new bankruptcy code that will make it easier for entrepreneurs to exit unviable businesses, Union Budget 2015-16 has proposed a series of wide-ranging legislative changes. Here's a snapshot of nine laws and their impact:

Bankruptcy code
The proposed legislation will make it easier for companies and entrepreneurs to exit unviable ventures. The code will replace the Sick Industrial Companies Act and the Board for Industrial and Finance Reconstruction Act.

Comprehensive law to deal with black money parked abroad

The proposed law provides for prosecution and rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years for those concealing income and assets and evading tax on foreign assets. It also provides for prosecution of those not filing returns on, or filing returns with inadequate disclosure of foreign assets. The owner or beneficiary of foreign assets will have to mandatorily file returns, even if there is no taxable income. Those abetting offenders- individuals, entities, banks or financial institutions - will be liable for prosecution and penalty.

Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill
The legislation will enable confiscation of benami properties and provide for prosecution. It is aimed at preventing circulation of black money in the domestic economy. Also, the income tax Act is proposed to be amended to prohibit acceptance or payment of an advance of at least Rs 20,000 in cash for purchase of immovable property.

Public Contracts (Resolution of Disputes) Bill
The law is expected to streamline the process of resolving disputes in public contracts. Quick resolution of disputes is expected to ease the cash-flow stress of companies involved in public contracts.

Indian Financial Code
As suggested by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, the Indian Financial Code lays out clear objectives for financial regulations. Under the proposed legislation, a unified financial authority will be set up as a regulator. The code proposes to set up a financial redress agency to resolve consumer complaints.

Regulatory Reform Bill
This is expected to bring about cogency of approach across various infrastructure sectors. It is felt this will create an enabling environment for the smooth rollout of public-private partnership projects. The proposed law is expected to bring about consistency in regulators entrusted with tariff decisions across sectors.

Procurement law
This is aimed at preventing malfeasance in public procurement. The Public Procurement Bill, 2012, introduced in the 15th Lok Sabha, had advocated open competitive bidding as the preferred method for procurement and specified the conditions under which procurement methods could be used, as well as the procedure to be followed.

Amendment to RBI Act to help constitute a monetary policy committee
The committee will guide the central bank's policy stance and help in inflation targeting. According to the monetary policy framework agreement signed between the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India, the committee will seek to keep consumer price index-based inflation below six per cent by January 2016 and four per cent from 2016-17 (plus/minus two per cent). The move is seen as an attempt to bring better coordination between the ministry and the central bank.

Public debt management agency
The new agency will manage both external and domestic debt.