After decriminalising minor offences under the Companies Act, the Narendra Modi government has embarked on reducing the risk of imprisonment for omissions that aren’t necessarily mala fide, under 28 economic and financial sector statutes, including the income tax Act, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Sebi Act, RBI Act, Banking Regulation Act, SARFAESI Act and the Collection of Statistics Act.
Criminal penalties, including imprisonment for minor offences, are one of the major reasons for subdued business sentiments and are seen to hinder investments both from domestic and foreign investors.
“The Cabinet secretary has instructed all the ministries to go through all Acts under their jurisdiction and identify provisions, which could be potentially decriminalised. As many as 128 provisions across 28 statutes could be considered over the next 2-3 months,” a government official said.
Source: Financial Express
