DPIIT proposes to appoint agencies for ascertaining cost of regulation

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has proposed to appoint survey agencies to ascertain of cost of regulation in the country.

The department is undertaking an exercise to assess the cost of regulations in states with a view to further improving the ease of doing business.

"DPIIT proposed to undertake the measurement of administrative cost burden related to multiple compliance requirements prescribed by the government departments across the country," according to a request for proposal (RFP) of the department.

It said that the objective of this exercise is to conduct the survey of industry users, intermediaries and interviewing experts related to identified services across all states/Union Territories in India.

"The DPIIT is seeking to employ the services of qualified survey agencies to assist in this initiative," it added.

The objectives of the assignment included objectively measuring the administrative cost burden arising from shortlisted government services across the country - within the guidelines of the CoR-2.0 (cost of regulation) framework by DPIIT; and undertaking comprehensive survey activity across the country and capturing the required data points required as per the framework.

"Interested applicants are requested to submit their responses to the RFP on Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Portal by September 30," it said.

Through this, the official said, states will get insight into reforms which they can bring to improve the business climate for industry.

Citing examples, an official said seeking a number of papers and delays in giving approvals or clearances involves cost to the industry.

The department is taking a series of measures to reduce the compliance burden of the industry and improve the ease of doing business. It has removed or simplified thousands of obsolete provisions and has rolled out a national single-window system for faster approvals and clearances.

A Jan Vishwas law was rolled out last year under which minor offences were decriminalised through amendments in 183 provisions of 42 Acts.

The bill converts several fines to penalties, meaning that court prosecution is not necessary to administer punishments.

It also removes imprisonment as a punishment for many offences.

Continue with the process, the department is now working on the second edition of that law.