Business · Economy · 7 hrs ago
CII urges GST-style reforms to simplify land, labour and local approvals
India’s industry body CII urged the Centre and states to simplify business rules on land, labour, construction, utilities and local permissions.
It pointed to changes agreed by the GST Council at its October 8 meeting as a model for cooperation between central and state governments.
Those GST changes include raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore and narrowing some offences, but legislative amendments are needed to put them into effect.
CII says businesses face overlapping rules and approvals across states, which can raise costs and delay projects.
The proposed wider reforms aim to reduce those barriers and encourage investment, especially for manufacturing and enterprise growth.
CII says simpler, more predictable regulation could also reduce legal costs and uncertainty for small businesses and first-time entrepreneurs, while retaining criminal action for deliberate fraud and tax evasion.
It wants governments to coordinate on the next phase of reforms, and asks businesses, particularly smaller firms, to strengthen internal controls and voluntary compliance.
CII urged the Centre and states to apply GST-style reforms to land, labour, construction, utilities and local approvals.
The industry body said simpler rules and better coordination could reduce compliance costs and speed up investment.
It cited the GST Council’s October 8 decisions on decriminalising certain GST offences as an example of trust-based governance.
CII said businesses face overlapping requirements, multiple authorities and inconsistent procedures across states.
It said reforms should preserve criminal action against deliberate fraud and evasion.
- Who
- The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an industry body, made the recommendations.
- What
- CII called for GST-style reforms to simplify land, labour, construction, utility and local approval processes.
- When
- The article was published on November 1, 2026; CII cited GST Council decisions made at its October 8 meeting.
- Where
- India. The proposals concern coordination between the Centre, states and local authorities.
- Why
- CII said overlapping requirements and inconsistent procedures increase business costs and delay investment.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The GST Council made decisions on decriminalising certain GST offences.
CII called for similar coordination and reforms in land, labour, construction, utilities and local approvals.
- GST prosecution threshold
- Proposed increase from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore
- GST Council meeting
- October 8
- CII director general
- Chandrajit Banerjee
- Proposed reform areas
- Land, labour, construction, utilities and local approvals
What people are saying
The GST Council has demonstrated that difficult institutional reforms can be achieved when the Centre and states agree on common objectives and work together to deliver them.
We need similar coordination and reform commitment across land, labour, construction, utilities and local permissions to improve the ease, cost and speed of doing business.