Government to reduce number of clearances required to open kirana stores, eateries

New Delhi: In an attempt to make easier to do business at the grassroots, the government is planning to reduce the number of approvals required for opening Kirana shops or eateries. At present, 28 clearances are required to open a store, ranging from goods and services tax (GST) registration to a license under Shops and Establishment Act to insecticides and permission from the weights and measures department.

In the same way, 17 approvals are required to open a dhaba or a restaurant, from no-objection certificate for a fire to signage, clearances from municipal bodies and license to play music and clearance from the food regulator. These are hyper-local in nature and vary from city to city, according to a ToI report.

However, only four clearances are required to open a restaurant in countries such as China and Singapore. The government has promised to make entrepreneurs' life simple and get India into the top 50 in the Ease of Doing Business ranking globally.

Citing the prevalence of the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), it is an impediment for restaurant owners. For example, a Subway restaurant has to submit around 24 documents to the police in the capital to serve a sandwich, while only 13 documents are required to apply for the procurement of a weapon, according to the apex body.

The national publication cited a government official as saying, there are multiple rules and regulations governing Kirana shops and the idea is to reduce it significantly. Apart from this, the department for the promotion of industry and retail trade (DPIIT) is looking at doing away with the need for renewal of licenses, which will help small businesses to focus on running their shops and eateries instead of running around government offices and dealing with inspectors.

The national daily quoted the president of NRAI and founder & CEO of The Beer Café, Rahul Singh, as saying, "It’s a proactive step from the government. Can we please have a uniform code for restaurants at a national level with a digital way of doing business? Currently, we are just getting photocopies the whole day. Not only every state but every city with its various municipal bodies has a different set of rules for restaurants. Some of the clearances needed, like in the case of fire, can be city-specific but what role does the tourism department have when it comes to giving clearances to restaurants."