Trade licence system for industries to go

The State government will soon abolish the trade licensing system for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the State, Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani announced on Monday.

Addressing the media, he said Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has agreed to abolish it following a request by the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA). A government order in this regard will be issued after the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) scheduled to be held on June 7 and 8.
The KASSIA had recently threatened to boycott the GIM if the government failed to fulfil its demand. The Association had said that the insistence of trade licence was an additional burden as SMEs are already governed by several Acts like Factories Act, Shops and Establishments Act, ESI, PF Act, which are of statutory in nature. There are about six lakh SMEs in the State.

Under the present system, SMEs should not only obtain trade licence to function but renew it every year by paying a stipulated fee. The SMEs were of the view that the system of issuing trade licence was leading to unnecessary harassment by some officials.

However, the government is silent on KASSIA’s other demand for reducing property tax rate on SMEs coming under the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike limits.