Century-old Boiler Act to be freed from crime for ease of doing business

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) may also relax 60 compliances related to the law, apart from diluting three provisions of the Act, by removing the provision of two years jail term for violation of rules.

The proposed changes will affect a number of industries, including electricity, automobiles, textiles, breweries and distilleries.

It is part of the government’s reform initiative to improve ease of doing business in the country and reduce litigation.

Boilers are an essential equipment for many industries including power plants, government factories, sugar, textile, feed, auto rice mills and pharmaceutical industries. “We will soon decriminalize the Boilers Act, 1923. The provision of jail for three sections of the Act will be removed. About 30 compliances under the boiler regulation have already been reduced, said a commerce ministry official.

“Boiler inspectors almost never give us certificates without bribe. If you self-certify, there will be targeted harassment. In Jharkhand it’s pricey. Get the boiler inspector to approve a 6-ton boiler is the current rate of 15,000. The bribe goes on increasing according to the capacity of the boiler,” said the in-charge of a chemical factory, who did not wish to be named.

In an earlier interview, DPIIT secretary Anurag Jain said the department was probing certain trade-related offenses under Ease of Doing Business 2.0, apart from extending the license period and cutting the frequency of inspections.

Queries emailed to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry spokesperson remained unanswered till press time.

States and the Center have eliminated more than 25,000 compliances, and an additional 3,000 compliances are being reviewed this year to make up for the shortfall.

Over the years, the government has reduced 103 offenses and removed 327 redundant provisions and laws to ease the compliance burden of the industry.

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