Multipicity of Statutes - a common man's nightmare

India is known for its cumbersome, complicated and multiple enactments which can be deciphered and interpreted by an expert only. For an ordinary business man who want to set up a small business will find time only to deal with various statutory formalities, rather than doing business. He has to get his company registered, if he go in for a incorporated body structure. Or he has to draft a partnership deed if he enters into a partnership. Then comes the list of statutory formalities to be complied with:

1. License from local authority
2. License under Shops & Establishment Act
3. PAN
4. TAN, if he is going to deduct tax
5. IE Code, if he going to import or export
6. Central Excise Registration, if he is manufacturing something
7. Service Tax Registration, if he is providing any service out of 100 and odd specified services
8. VAT Registration
9. CST Registration
10. Industrial License
11. Factories & Boilers Registration
12. Package Commodities Act - Registration
13. Standard Weights & Measures Act - Registration and stamping of all measuring apparatuses
14. License under Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, if you deal in any food items
15. If you sell any insecticides and pesticides, get a license for that
16. If you sell any kind of OTC medicines, get a license
17. PF
18. ESI
19. Labour Welfare Fund
20. Minimum Wages Act
21. Payment of Gratuity Act
22. Payment of Bonus Act
23. Contract Labour Abolition Act
24. Payment of Wages Act
25. Maternity Benefits Act
26. Industrial Establishments (National & Festival Holidays) Act

These are the list of statutes coming into mind. But actual compliance requirements are in fact more. All these statutes require maintenance of specific registers and records, which are in most of the case duplication of work. The same data has to be recorded in more than one registers to satisfy different statutes.

In many cases, still, maintenance of registers in electronic mode is not permitted.

Intricacies and interpretation of individual statutes and resulting confusion and chaos can not be explained here. It has to be experienced!

Over the top of all, the bureaucracy and the inspection raj and related extra legal affairs!

If you want to do business amidst this, even god cannot save you from bankrupsy!