Jan Vishwas Bill And The Reform Of Regulatory Penalties

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 seeks to reduce unnecessary criminalisation in India’s regulatory system by replacing punitive responses to minor procedural lapses with civil and administrative mechanisms. It aims to improve ease of doing business and living while promoting a more proportionate regulatory framework.

Legislative Background

• Introduction and passage: The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 27, 2026, passed there on April 1, 2026, and passed by the Rajya Sabha on April 2, 2026.
• Replacement of earlier Bill: It replaces the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, which had been introduced on August 18, 2025 and withdrawn on March 17, 2026.
• Committee expansion: The 2025 Bill covered 17 Central Acts, but the Select Committee recommended further changes to those Acts and amendments to 65 more Acts.
• Wider scope: The 2026 Bill proposes amendments to 784 provisions across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 ministries, with 717 provisions marked for decriminalisation.

Core Rationale

• Principle of proportionality: The Bill is based on the idea that the State’s response should match the seriousness of the conduct involved. Criminal punishment is meant for fraud, wilful evasion and threats to public safety, not routine procedural lapses.
• Protection for smaller enterprises: MSMEs and smaller businesses face greater compliance risks because they are less able to bear the consequences of regulatory action. The Bill therefore seeks to make compliance simpler and fairer.
• Judicial relief: District and subordinate courts had over 4.8 crore pending cases in December 2025, including many minor regulatory matters. Decriminalisation is intended to free courts for more serious issues.

Main Regulatory Changes

• Civil penalties instead of criminal sanctions: The Bill decriminalises several offences and substitutes criminal punishment with civil penalties or administrative action. Its main focus is on minor procedural defaults.
• Example from cosmetics law: Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, contraventions relating to manufacture and sale of cosmetics are shifted from possible imprisonment and fine to a civil penalty of one lakh rupees or three times the value of confiscated cosmetics, whichever is higher.
• Example from highways law: Under the National Highways Act, 1956, making a highway impassable or less safe is moved from criminal punishment to a civil penalty ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
• Fine-only approach in some cases: In certain laws, imprisonment is removed and only a fine remains, with a higher maximum amount. This applies, for example, to offences under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 and the Electricity Act, 2003.

Omission and Rationalisation of Offences

• Removal of offences: The Bill omits several offences entirely instead of merely reducing punishment. This reflects a broader effort to shrink the criminal reach of regulatory law.
• Illustrative omissions: These include giving false alarm of fire under the Delhi Police Act, failure to provide information on births and deaths under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, and false entries in the register of copyrights under the Copyright Act.
• Continuation of earlier reform: The Bill builds on the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which had already decriminalised 183 provisions across 42 Central laws.

Graded Enforcement Mechanisms

• Warnings and advisories: For some offences, the Bill introduces graded responses in place of immediate prosecution. First contraventions may attract an advisory, second contraventions a warning, and later contraventions a civil penalty.
• Example under Apprentices Act: Refusal to furnish information or requiring an apprentice to work overtime would first invite an advisory and then a warning before a civil penalty is imposed.
• Improvement notices: Under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, the Bill introduces improvement notices for first offences. These require the non-compliance to be corrected within a specified period.
• Escalating response: In certain Legal Metrology cases, the second offence may invite a civil penalty, while later offences remain punishable with a criminal fine.

Institutional and Administrative Changes

• Adjudicating officers: The Bill provides for adjudicating officers to conduct inquiries and decide penalties. This shifts many matters from criminal courts to administrative forums.
• Appellate authorities: It also provides for appellate authorities to hear appeals against the decisions of adjudicating officers. These are meant to act as safeguards against arbitrary enforcement.
• Revision of penalties: The Bill revises the monetary value of fines and penalties and provides for a 10% increase of the respective minimum amount every three years.
• Exception to general revision rule: Where an Act already contains its own method for revising fines and penalties, that method will continue to apply.

Impact on Business and Justice

• Reduced fear of prosecution: By lowering criminal exposure for technical defaults, the Bill may encourage businesses, especially MSMEs, to engage more confidently with the formal economy.
• Better compliance climate: A more predictable system based on proportionate penalties can strengthen voluntary compliance by replacing the threat of prosecution with measured consequences.
• Faster resolution: Expanded compounding and administrative adjudication are intended to resolve minor regulatory disputes more quickly than full criminal proceedings.

Concerns and Limitations

• Administrative discretion: A major concern is that administrative authorities may exercise excessive discretion in the absence of clear and uniform standards.
• Weak safeguards: The effectiveness of appellate structures will depend on how seriously they are implemented across sectors. Weak safeguards could reduce the fairness of the new framework.
• Burden may persist: There is also a risk that monetary penalties may replace criminalisation without significantly reducing the compliance burden.

New Delhi Municipal Council Changes

• Property tax structure: The Bill amends the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 to specify that property tax will consist of a building tax and a vacant land tax.
• Municipal Valuation Committee: It creates a Municipal Valuation Committee to recommend base values for vacant land and buildings and the method for determining and revising property tax.
• Hardship and Anomaly Committee: It also establishes a Hardship and Anomaly Committee to address grievances relating to property tax.
• Advertisement tax removed: The Bill removes provisions relating to the levy of advertisement tax in the New Delhi municipal area.

The Jan Vishwas Bill represents an attempt to replace over-criminalised regulation with a more proportionate and administratively managed system. Its real success will depend on whether implementation ensures fairness, clarity and effective institutional safeguards.