The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working on a plan to establish a pan-India single-window clearance system for investments. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has proposed to set up an investment clearance cell that will be a one-stop shop for applying for licences, permissions and incentives given by both central and state governments.
Government sources told CNBC-TV18 that the cell will be set up in four phases. In the first three phases, all central government-related procedures and clearances will be packaged in a single online form. In addition, legislation has also been proposed to mandate time-bound clearances of central government-related permissions.
Currently, a new investor has to apply at different central departments for getting permissions like GST registration, industrial entrepreneur memorandum, import-export codes, environment clearance, EPF and ESIC registration, as well as company incorporation. It is proposed to have all these and other statutory permissions in a single online form.
In addition, the DPIIT also proposes to onboard state-based single window clearance systems into the investment clearance cell system. As of now, 21 states have established single window clearance systems but many of these work in silos. As a result, investors have to physically follow up at both the Centre and state levels as the IT systems of these individual departments don’t interact with each other.
As per the systems currently available at the central level, a new investor can approach Invest India – a body set up as a partnership between the government and the industry – to handhold investment proposals. The Invest India Query Management System as well as which is the primary response mechanism for investors, as well as e-Nivesh Monitor – which is a national portal for monitoring clearances, will be integrated into the investment clearance cell.
DPIIT will ask each central government department and state government to depute two nodal officers for coordinating clearances through the proposed cell.
