Problems relating to Trade and Investment on India
23. Inefficient administrative procedures, regimes and practices |
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Issue |
Issue details |
Requests |
Reference |
| (1) Complex and Cumbersome Administrative Procedures | - Generally administrative procedures are complex, vertically compartmentalised with the remotest idea of improving its service to the public. In the international perspective, it appears that Indian government's position against the public is stronger than that of any other governments. - The following are some of the problems concerning rules, regulations, and procedures in India: -- Unidentified windows (where to file applications, etc. are unknown), -- Decision making processes are complex and too numerous, -- Depending upon business scale, competent authority moves from central government to state or vice versa. Furthermore, matters under the state jurisdiction can be consigned to the central government or the authority shifts between the central and state authorities, -- It is time consuming to obtain approvals, -- Schedule changes are frequent for monthly approval meetings, which can be cancelled due to the absence of senior executive members, disrupting the predetermined schedules. -- Consultancy service is necessary to complete all these procedures. [Applicable rules and matters requiring application] -- Environmental application -- Environment no objection certificate (NOC)(consent to operate) from ministry of environment and forests -- Application for building construction -- Building approval (building to land ratio, waste disposal system, etc) and confirmation of technical safety based on the national standard -- Fire defence, application for use of hazardous goods, and on-site inspection -- Filing of application for factory operation permits. -- Labour agreement, etc. that provides for the company's rule for registration. - The procedures are so complex for obtaining the approval of tax exemption (Advance Authorization) from ministry of commerce and industry/directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT), it has taken more than a year. MFS cannot wait until obtaining the approval, so that it has no other choice but paying the tax. |
- It is requested that GOI: -- further clarifies and simplifies for the procedures concerning Licences and Approvals. And -- cuts down the time required for the issuance of Licences and Approvals. - It is requested that DGFT cuts down the procedures (at most within 2-months). |
- Para 4.7 Hand Book of Procedure (HBP) of Indian Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) |
| (Action) - The Indian Constitution distributes the state matters into 3-jurisdictions, federal, state, and joint federal/state, under federal list, state list and competing list, to which the applicable rules vary by each list. Regarding the infrastructure issues, federal list deals with diplomatic issues, railways, expressways, shipping, etc. state list, land deals, water, road, bridge, etc. while competing list deals with the issues concerned with property transfer, labour, fringe benefits for labour, electric power, etc. with varying rules and regulations. It is important to run the business, bearing all of these factors in mind. |
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| (2) Complex, Delayed Permit to Establishes and Operate Factory | - Legislation on factory operating licence requires substantive negotiation in minute details on all matters. (It has taken a lot of time with the competent authority to discuss about the minute details on unrealistic issues, such as the regulation on the shower room, the seating capacity of employees' canteen, etc.) | - It is requested that GOI improves the scheme and process of business licence. | - BA (Application for Building Confirmation) - CTO (Acquisition of Operational Licence) |
| (3) Disunity of Documents for Submission | - Depending upon the government employee in charge, the details of the requisite documents vary in each submission so that preparation of new sets of documents or amendments become necessary, doubling or tripling the workload. | - It is requested that GOI identifies expressly in writing the requisite documents. | |
| (4) Complexity of the "Signature" Culture | - GOI requires signature on each page of all documents of hundreds of pages upon filing application for licences and approvals. So long as the signature is on the documents, it seems no check is made about the authenticity of the signature on the documents. - While GOI has introduced accepting in some cases electronic filing of application documents, GOI requires printout of all pages, which must be stamped and signed on each page by the applicant. It increases unnecessary waste all around. |
- It is requested that GOI streamlines the signature requirement. - It is requested that GOI accepts the electronic filing of application as full and complete submission of the requisite application documents. |
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| (5) Shortage of Coordination by and among Ministries and Agencies | - Due to the bureaucratic sectionalism, the same set of documents must be submitted to all relevant ministries and agencies. It takes a lot of workload. | - It is requested that ministries and agencies share information to each other. | |
| (6) Nebulous Decision of the Stamp Duty Amount | - The local judge decides the stamp duty amount without showing any clear classification basis upon purchase of the land property. While the purchaser is unhappy about the huge amount of the stamp duty, it has no alternative but pay the amount willy-nilly. | - It is requested that GOI takes steps to show expressly the classification basis of stamp duty into legislation. | - Stamp Duty under Lease Deed. |
| (7) Reporting Requirement to BIS on the Domestic Cargo Movement | - Under the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) scheme, BIS requires reporting of all interstate cargo movements. | ||
| (8) Delayed Application Procedures for Residential Permit | - The receipt of residential permit delayed by large margin at Gujarat state due to absence or lunch break of foreigners regional registration officer (FRRO). (A delay of two weeks prevented the applicant from making overseas business trip, inconveniencing the business.) | - It is requested that GOI takes step to set up the standard procedures from application to grant of residential permit, and timely issues residential permit. | |
| (9) Delayed Application / Approval Procedures under Pharmaceutical Affairs Act | - It takes much time and cost for acquisition of import licence on import products from abroad. | - It is requested that GOI enables mutual two-way authentication: 510K of the U.S./EU CE marking or Japanese pharmaceutical affairs law. | - Pharmaceutical Affairs Law |
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