3 weeks ago
Businesses still face thousands of regulations, House Panel told
Running a business means following rules, called regulations.
In India, businesses have to follow an enormous number of them.
A government committee heard that companies must deal with more than 1,500 separate laws.
Together, these laws create over 69,000 different rules and more than 6,000 government forms.
The government has already removed more than 47,000 outdated rules.
But business leaders say there are still too many, especially laws about workers.
Companies must follow national rules and many different state rules at the same time.
Following so many rules costs money and makes businesses afraid to invest.
Now the committee has asked government departments to cut more rules and make things easier.
A typical firm in India must navigate 1,536 distinct Acts, which impose 69,233 compliance requirements and 6,618 statutory filings across the three tiers of government.
Industry bodies including CII, FICCI and FIEO told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce that overlapping rules inflate fixed operational costs and suppress long-term capital deployment.
Pan-India rationalization drives have neutralized over 47,000 regulatory obligations, yet stakeholders say overlapping rules still survive and add to the burden.
The absence of automated 'deemed approval' mechanisms and central legislative backup undermines the National Single Window System (NSWS) launched in 2021.
Corporates concurrently face 44 Central statutes and more than 100 State-specific labour laws; the panel has instructed departments to reduce restrictions.
- Who
- Industry stakeholders (CII, FICCI, FIEO, freight forwarders, women entrepreneurs and others) appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce.
- What
- Testified that despite reform efforts, firms in India still navigate 1,536 Acts, 69,233 compliance requirements and 6,618 statutory filings.
- Where
- India, with compliance requirements across the three tiers of government.
- When
- Not specified in the article.
- Why
- To press for reducing the regulatory burden that stakeholders say inflates costs and suppresses long-term capital deployment.
Industry stakeholders
Government reform efforts
Regulatory reform progress
Industry stakeholders
Despite multi-year rationalization, firms still face 1,536 Acts and 69,233 compliance requirements; overlapping rules inflate costs and suppress long-term capital deployment.
Government reform efforts
Over 47,000 regulatory obligations have already been neutralized through pan-India rationalization drives, showing meaningful progress in reducing the compliance burden.
Key facts
- Panel
- Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce
- Report
- Doing Business in India: The Way Forward
- Distinct Acts
- 1,536
- Compliance requirements
- 69,233
- Statutory filings
- 6,618
- Regulatory obligations neutralized
- Over 47,000
- Labour laws to comply with
- 44 Central statutes and over 100 State laws
- National Single Window System launch
- 2021
Quotes
Industry stakeholders
Representatives from major Indian industry bodies
“The survival of overlapping rules continues to inflate fixed operational costs and suppress long-term capital deployment.”
financialexpress.com
Sources
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