ease of doing business

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS

Starting a business is much easier than doing business in the current commercial environment. Please change the slogan from "Ease of starting business" to "Ease of doing business".

Below said is from actual experience

Wish to cite a case briefly , a sales tax case , in which assessment was conducted for 5years at a particular rate of tax , in the sixth year an officer disputes this rate and suggests a much higher rate and taxes for the past 5 years are recovered with interest and penalty. Is this fair/just. Many had to close their businesses due to this ruling. So much for so called “Ease of doing business”.

This proves that the department herself does not know the Act. Is it just to penalize the public under the circumstances? The department in the above case is not held responsible for assessing incorrectly for 5 years.

It would be fair to both the department and the public, only if the first time an error/mistake/fault is come to light the department should issue a guidance notice to the concerned party and if the act/law/rules is flouted the second time then the punishment should be given. Also this system will encourage the department to reach out quickly to the assesses/entities covered by respective departments, and make the first time corrective guidance if required and compliance is ensured and create honest law abiders rather than unknowingly flouters of the law.

Each type/category of industry, trade and business activity has developed over many decades, and we should appreciate that it has evolved and so are the rules and system of working in that business. But our administrative system makes a set of laws which is supposed to be applicable to all business that has evolved over decades with its own rules. Is this fair or is it possible? And in trying to adapt most people land up on the wrong side of these laws. This is because the makers do not have any experience in running a business and more so in that particular trade/business. The present law makers are not affected by these and so their concerns are also with little depth. Then these laws are exploited by the administration for personal gains. This is evident in the news on a hourly basis. The laws should be made and passed by a majority in business and not from the administration . This argument is deflated by the politicians and the administration by creating committees with outside participation and then they say that the laws were sent for wider circulation and comments from the general public , but this is only drama, the laws are finally made by the administration and passed by politicians who play the game in groups/parties. Thus law making becomes a joke.

The higher courts comes to decisions/judgements on issues from the lower court after many years, if in favour of the departments then the department enforces the higher court judgement from the date the issue was filed for the first time in the lower courts, in other words retrospectively. The higher court could add a line that this judgement is applicable from the date of issuance, because only higher courts verdict is final.

Suggestion:- All laws/rules/regulations/taxes etc etc should be framed by groups having 75% persons from the public. The establishment/government should be only 25% of the group. Shri Modi said , minimum government maximum governance. Hope he can do it. People who will be affected by laws should be the law makers. Then for the above said 25% , the best talent in every field, selected purely on merit in terms of education and all other abilities, should man the administration. They should be paid at with the best in the industry or elsewhere. One good talent may be equal to a dozen from the current lot, so the costs will be less in the long run. This is the only way out for India.

Looking ahead why not create a UNCORRUPT system having no intrusion on privacy of others. The govt requires Tax , this could be collected by way of transaction tax. All currency notes above Rs.20/- to go out, all transactions only by way of plastic cards , internet banking , or any other form of digital system only, hundreds are available today. For every transaction , a tax will be debited automatically by the system at the time of the transaction itself ( like TDS).The govt gets its revenue. The govt does not spend on monitoring business and tax collection expenses , AND out goes all misinterpretation of rules/laws , discretion of the person on the spot, complicated rules/laws , no intrusion , no chance of corruption, millions of court cases will not appear, only benefits for every one.

The recording and submission of accounts/income for individuals/groups/firms and organisations to be submitted to the Govt , for the purpose of ensuring there are no illegalities with reference to the laws of the land. Everything records/financial statement remains as it is, except there is no hard cash to corrupt.This goes well with the slogan from PM, LESS GOVERNMENT .
ALL administrative and accounting persons need not worry about loosing jobs. OR still better, the persons employed in the collection and accounting could be free to come to business , more entrepreneurs and the country will be number one in the world. Presently , the entrepreneur is doing less business and more of complying with the wonderful laws created by persons never affected by the laws.

One half is doing all the hard work and the other half is simply sitting over the first half and creating trouble, harrasment, and earning and surviving. Lets make a system that do not create parasitic culture. more