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UPSC » Daily News Analysis ‘Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025’ : 19 August

Daily News Analysis ‘Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025’ : 19 August

Table of Content

Key Features of the Bill

  • Builds on Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 → which had decriminalised 183 provisions.
  • Scope: Amends 355 provisions in total.
    • 288 provisions decriminalised.
    • 67 provisions amended under New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Act, 1994  & Motor Vehicles Act (1988).
  • Replacement of imprisonment clauses for minor/technical defaults with monetary penalties or warnings.
  • Administrative enforcement: Designated officers empowered to impose penalties → reduces judicial burden.
  • Graduated penalty system: Repeated offences attract higher penalties.
  • Automatic 10% rise in penalties every 3 years to maintain deterrence without fresh legislation.

Sector-Specific Amendments

  1. NDMC Act (1994)
    • 47 provisions amended.
    • Shift from Rateable Value Method to Unit Area Method (UAM) for property tax.
    • Transparent, formula-based assessment linked to property size, use & location → reduces discretion & boosts compliance.
  2. Motor Vehicles Act (1988)
    • 20 provisions amended.
    • Relaxations for citizens:
      • Vehicle registration → state-wide instead of jurisdiction-specific.
      • Reporting period for registration cancellation: extended 14 → 30 days.
      • Insurer intimation period for transfer of insurance: extended 14 → 30 days.
  3. Apprentices Act (1961)
    • 11 offences softened:
      • First contravention → advisory.
      • Subsequent → censure, warning, or penalty (instead of immediate fine/imprisonment).
  4. Other Acts under further decriminalisation:
    • Tea Act, 1953
    • Legal Metrology Act, 2009
    • Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
    • Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940

Significance

  • For Businesses: Reduces fear of imprisonment for minor violations → improves investment climate.
  • For Citizens: Simplifies compliance in areas like property tax & vehicle registration.
  • For Judiciary: Cuts down litigation burden by shifting to administrative penalties.
  • For Governance: Promotes ease of living & ease of doing business, with transparent and proportionate enforcement.

Why in News?

  • Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal introduced the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, proposing decriminalisation of 288 provisions to ease doing business.