Easing up: Govt extends industrial licence validity to three years

The Government has extended the validity period of an industrial licence to three years from two years, with a provision for further extension by two years.

This will enhance the ease of doing business, the Commerce Ministry said in a release.

The licence will, however, lapse automatically after five years, in the absence of commencement of commercial production, a Press Note issued by the Ministry said.

Industry body CII said the Government’s decision demonstrated its commitment to improving the ease of doing business in the country.

The applicants fulfilling the given requirements are to be granted an extension of industrial license, with the approval of the Joint Secretary of the Administrative Ministry concerned, without referring the application to a Licensing Committee, the Press Note added. “We hope that this will help in the expeditious clearance of fresh industrial licence applications and the extension of the existing industrial licences,” CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

Recently, the Government has taken a number of steps to improve India’s ranking by the World Bank in the ease of doing business.

This included delicensing several Defence products for the private sector.

The National Industrial Classification Code has also been upgraded with a view to making the business climate more investor-friendly.

According to a World Bank report, India ranks 134th out of 189 economies in the ease of doing business index.