Apart from its current efforts to bring transparency into the country’s domestic economy, the government has been working towards bringing transparency into the real estate sector as well. Several steps taken by the government in recent times —from the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — have all been implemented for improving the ease of doing business in this sector, as well as for increasing investor confidence. After implementation, these policy changes are likely to attract more institutional investments into the Indian realty market — from domestic as well as foreign institutions.

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act or RERA: The much-awaited Act — covering both residential and commercial realty segments — was passed in March 2016. Although its actual implementation can only be effective once all the states create their respective state-level authorities, an effective implementation can be a game changer for the real estate and construction sector. It has been among the key measures which the government is trying to implement for the development and regulatory transparency of the real estate sector in India.

New Delhi: The government on Friday notified the rules by which companies can go through liquidation under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016. The regulations for the liquidation process are part of the rules being notified by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to implement the code and, in the process, improve the ease of doing business in India. The government earlier notified rules empowering the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to be the appropriate adjudicating authority to handle corporate insolvency matters under the code.

Together with the registration of insolvency professionals (IP), IP agencies and notification of regulations under the code, IBBI now has the required infrastructure in place to address bankruptcy matters under the code. Parliament passed the bankruptcy code in May. It aims to improve the ease of doing business in the country by facilitating smoother and time-bound settlement of insolvency and faster turnaround of businesses, along with creating a database of serial defaulters.

MUMBAI: The BMC has accused the state revenue department of creating hurdles in its efforts to improve the city's global ranking for the ease-of-doing-business initiative and the Centre of imposing impractical suggestions such as the civic chief gives up his discretionary power to provide concessions to builders.
According to the World Bank's report on Ease of Doing Business, India's overall ranking improved in only two parameters—securing electricity connection and enforcing contracts. The ranking dropped in five parameters with construction permits topping the list.The revenue department takes an 'inordinately long time' to give no-objection certificate to builders who surrender portion of their land for public amentities in lieu of additional FSI on the remaining plot, claimed the civic administration.

India has expressed reservations on World Bank’s ‘Doing Business Report’ where it has been ranked 172 amongst 190 countries, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday. Government is aware of the latest analysis of the World Bank’s report in which India has been ranked 172 amongst 190 countries surveyed in the matter of paying taxes. “We have some reservations about the methodology of the assessment parameters in this regard,” he said during Question Hour, amidst noisy protests by Opposition.

Jaitley said the government has been taking a number of steps to ease tax compliance for tax payers. “We are constantly striving to improve our position,” he said. The Union minister said the Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) in its four reports had made useful recommendations on issues like customer focus, structure and governance, dispute management, key internal processes, use of information and communication technology.

NEW DELHI: India has expressed reservations on World Bank's 'Doing Business Report' where it has been ranked 172 amongst 190 countries, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today. Government is aware of the latest analysis of the World Bank's report in which India has been ranked 172 amongst 190 countries surveyed in the matter of paying taxes. "We have some reservations about the methodology of the assessment parameters in this regard," he said during Question Hour, amidst noisy protests by Opposition. Jaitley said the government has been taking a number of steps to ease tax compliance for tax payers. "We are constanly striving to improve our position," he said. 

The MoU shall enable exchange of officials from both the Governments to facilitate sharing of best practises, offering technical assistance and enhanced implementation of reforms. The collaboration shall also cover State Governments in its ambit. The UK government has shown interest to offer expertise in the following areas:

1. Support to small businesses and start ups
2. Starting business and registration
3. Paying taxes and tax administration
4. Insolvency
5. Construction permits
6. Getting electricity
7. Risk based framework for inspection and regulatory regimes
8. Trading across the borders
9. Competition economics
10. Getting credit
11. Drafting of laws and regulations
12. Reducing stock and flow of regulation
13. Impact assessment of regulations

In order to improve ‘ease of doing business’ in the country, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to cut down the examination of consignments at ports to just 10 per cent of the present value through “risk-based criteria”.

“CBEC will follow up with the heads of all agencies (port regulators, airport terminal operators, etc) to address the issue of bringing down number of consignments for examination to 10 per cent through risk-based criteria,” said the minutes of the meeting chaired by Nripendra Mishra, principal secretary to PM, on May 7 this year. This meeting was called to review implementation of recommendations for improving “ease of doing business” in India.

NEW DELHI: The industry department has proposed allowing companies to go in for voluntary Arbitration without having to seek court permission, a move aimed at making it easier for firms to resolve disputes.  According to a senior official, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has written to the ministry of justice to amend the alternate dispute mechanism under the Arbitration Act to do away with court-led procedures of resolving commercial disputes. 

“Arbitration in India is court driven and has to be initiated by a judge… We want to encourage mediation that is voluntary,” the official, who did not wish to be named, told ET. In the World Bank’s Doing Business report, India ranks 172 among 190 countries on the parameter of enforcing contracts.