Single Identifier : Light at the End of the Tunnel ?

 

Context :

Govt considering using PAN as single-point identifier to expedite clearances: Piyush Goyal / HT / 06 Dec

Extract :

The proposal involves the use of PAN as a unique identifier for entering the National Single Window System (NSWS) instead of using other identifiers for central and state-level regulatory approvals, Piyush Goyal said

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said the government is considering the use of Permanent Account Number or PAN as a single-point identifier to facilitate expeditious regulatory approvals to new investment proposals under the single window, besides allowing a similar facility for renewal of licenses and periodic compliances.

PAN is likely to be used as a unique identifier for API integration of data between ministries and states for ensuring a unique business user ID.

 

NSWS also helps reduce data duplication and fills the same data in various forms using auto-population module, he said.

 

 “We are moving towards using one of the existing databases as the entry point, which is already available with the government...and most probably that will be the PAN number. So, with the PAN, a lot of the basic data about the company, its directors, addresses, and a lot of common data is already available in the PAN database,” he said.

 

At present, there are more than a dozen different IDs for businesses such as,

 

#  15-digit Goods and Services Tax Identification Number ( GSTIN ),

 

#  Taxpayer Identification Number ( TIN ) and

 

#  Tax Deduction Account Number or

 

#  Tax Collection Account Number ( TAN ).

 

 

NSWS would help realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “transforming red tape to red carpet” and currently 27 central departments and 19 states have been on-boarded on the system, the minister explained.

 

Schemes fully on-boarded on NSWS include,

#   Vehicle Scrapping Policy,

#   Ethanol Policy,

#   Leather Development Program,

#   hallmarking of jewellery, and

#   Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) certification,

……… he said

 

 

The minister was addressing reporters after a review meeting on the single window system. The meeting witnessed participation from 32 central ministries and departments, 36 states and union territories and industry associations.

 

“At the meeting, several new ideas emerged from various stakeholders, especially on integration of data collection through a single time entry of critical information,” Goyal said.

 

Goyal added that the National Land Bank has also been integrated into NSWS as 1 lakh hectares of land in different industrial parks and estates are available in the system. The portal will become a one stop shop for buying industrial land, he said.

 

Encouraging more and more states to make use of NSWS, Goyal said states which use NSWS would be given better ranking on Ease of Doing Business Index.

 

The Minister said renewal of licences would also be brought under NSWS starting with the,

 

#  commerce and industry,

#  consumer affairs,

#  food and public distribution, and

#  textile ministries.

 

“Union government’s ease of doing business has two dimensions -- making laws simpler and ease of compliance. Single window is part of the later. It is making processes of regulatory approvals simpler both at the Central as well as at States. But applicants have to meet all legal requirements of respective jurisdictions. Yes, the system will make the entire exercise transparent, simple and time-bound, which will benefit investors immensely,” said A Sudhakar Reddy, a legal expert and former joint secretary, legal and treaty division in the ministry of external affairs.

 

MY  TAKE :

 

As of 2016 , each Indian Company had to have 16 different NUMBERS , issued by different departments / agencies of the Central and State Governments. That list included PAN ( Permanent Account Number, issued by the Income Tax Department )

In the following e-mail sent to our Cabinet Ministers, I had suggested that all of these get replaced by just ONE CARD ( one IDENTIFIER ) :

Ø  An " Aadhar " for Corporate ? ……………………………..[ 12 May 2016 ]

 

Extract :

Now , CBDT and MCA are in the process of integrating their back-end operations , to provide ONE SIMPLE IDENTITY to companies, doing away with the above multiple numbers

  

Without doubt , this long overdue simplification will make it easy to do business in India

  

But , it seems , that each State will have unique number ( for each Company registered in its territory ), as far as GST is concerned

 

Dear Shri Piyush Goyalji,

 

The news report says :

“….government is considering the use of Permanent Account Number or PAN as a single-point identifier to facilitate expeditious regulatory approvals… “

While congratulating on NSWS, I urge you to expedite your proposal

It will go a long way in “ Ease of Doing Business “ – which alone will convince the American / European / Japanese and South Korean companies to shift their manufacturing operations from China to India

Let us go far beyond RED CARPET and roll out GREEN CARPET for foreign investors as illustrated in my following e-mail :

Ø  FROM SINGLE WINDOW TO SINGLE DAY ?.................... [ 19 Sept 2015 ]

 

Extract :

 

 Can we look forward to one of the remaining Chief Ministers , to come forward and announce :

" We will clear all investment proposals in  ONE DAY  "

 [ And , he / she may not even belong to a BJP-controlled State ! ]

  

That would place that State on par with Singapore ( which continues to hold , rank

 # 1 , in World Bank Survey , for many years in a row )

 

Following real incidence will prove my point :

 

Some  40 years ago , Mohan Pherwani ( VP - Planning / Larsen & Toubro ) , made

a presentation to the officers of Singapore Development Authority ( SDA ) , for a

joint venture between L&T and SDA , for manufacture of Bottle Closures (

CrownCorks / Alu. Capsules ) in Singapore

 

After the presentation, a SDA officer took Pherwani to look up  suitable sites  for

setting up the proposed factory

 

In the evening , when Pherwani returned to his hotel , receptionist handed him a

letter from SDA ,

 

 >     confirming SDA willingness to form a JV with L&T

 

>     allotting the factory plot selected by Pherwani

 

>     enclosing a cheque ( drawn in favour of L&T ), towards SDA's  contribution

       to the equity capital of  proposed JV

 

       Sure ,  difficult to beat  !

 

 But not impossible, considering that the person propelling Singapore's current "

 Business Friendliness " is also, a person of INDIAN origin !

 

 That person is Mr Tharman Shanmugratnam , Singapore's Finance Minister since

 2007 and Deputy Prime Minister since 2011, whom , Shri Jaitley met 2 days back

 

Among the many good things taking place due to " Make in India " initiative ,

promoting competition among the States for attracting investments , is right at

the very top

 

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  07  Dec  2022

PS :

I believe current Chief Justice of Singapore is a person with Indian origin