Measures to reduce compliance burden by simplifying and decriminalising several laws can have a multiplier effect on ease of doing business, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

       “Reduction of compliance is about trust in every business person and citizen. Once trust is established, it becomes easier to evolve a non-confrontational policy framework. Simplification, elimination of compliances and decriminalisation of certain laws contribute to the larger framework to run businesses. It can also have a transformational impact,” Goyal said at the national workshop on reducing compliance burden.

       Department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) secretary Anurag Jain said that more than 22,000 compliances have been reduced by Centre as well as states. About 13,000 compliances have been simplified, while more than 1,200 processes have been digitized.

       During the last few years, the government also decriminalised 103 offences and 327 removed redundant laws.

       To reduce these burdens, every ministry, department and states were asked to conduct a comprehensive review of compliances under their purview to understand their relevance and rationale and undertake a complete process re-engineering to eliminate burdensome compliances.

       The exercise was done to improve ease of living and ease of doing business by simplifying, rationalizing, digitizing and decriminalizing government to business and citizen interfaces across all departments.

       According to a progress report on reduction of compliance burden, the Centre focused on decriminalization of minor offences to remove fear of prosecution for law abiding corporates and boost investment. As many as 46 penal provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 have been decriminalised.