Keya Sarkar: The burden of proof

When I first set up a retail space to sell the loom and craft products I design, I needed to figure out how to obtain a trade licence. Since the area where the shop is falls under the gram panchayat’s jurisdiction, I presumed the process would be different from what I was used to in Mumbai.

So I began asking people about the procedure to obtain a trade licence. Some of them looked puzzled and others candidly asked, “Why do you want to get into all this hassle?” Nevertheless, I discovered that the process was pretty simple and I obtained licences for the shop and an adjoining café without much fuss.

For the past six years, we have been renewing the licences even though we have shifted the venue. However, this year when I went to renew them I was told the panchayat had become vigilant and I would need to furnish my rent agreement to prove that I was a bona fide tenant.

This seemed reasonable till I found out that I would also need to produce proof that my landlord has paid his panchayat dues to make sure he is not a squatter! I marvelled at the panchayat’s new-found vigilance. I thought if I mentioned the plot number of our rented premises, the panchayat would be able to find out whether my landlord’s dues were clear. But I was informed that the panchayat keeps no such record or can’t be bothered to access them so the onus of getting the proof was on me. In short, in order to be on the right side of the law and obtain a trade licence, I not only had to prove that I was the legal tenant but also that my landlord was the rightful owner of the land and had paid all his dues to the panchayat.

I wondered if it would be better to operate without a trade licence till I am caught or obtain a licence and in the process receive a termination notice from my landlord for asking so many questions!

Meanwhile, I also decided to renew my membership of the country’s most well-known timeshare company. This, I thought, would be quite simple compared to my experience with the panchayat since it was only a matter of paying the annual subscription fee online.

I used my credit card and got a transaction confirmation. Two weeks later, I called the timeshare company to book a holiday. But the call-centre representative politely told me that I would only get a provisional booking because I hadn’t cleared my annual charges. I replied there must have been some mistake since I had already paid online through the company’s website.

That started a process quite reminiscent of my gram panchayat experience. Once again, the onus of getting the proof was on me. I had to furnish the transaction code (fair enough), the credit card bill and a hard copy of it! After about 21 days of making the payment, I received an acknowledgement (not an apology) that said the company was in receipt of my payment. A senior executive at the call centre simply explained all this by saying it was a “miscommunication” between the company and their bank.

Eight years ago, when I first came to settle down in the small town of Santiniketan from Mumbai, I would often tick off inefficient people and say, “You know that this would never be tolerated in a city.” Now I am far more cautious with my words, for I know that the more things change, the more they stay the same.