SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government has proposed replacing the existing permission-based approach to business regulation with a rule-based system, promising time-bound approvals, deemed clearances and reduced compliance burden for enterprises as part of a broader effort to attract investment, generate employment and sustain long-term economic growth in the Union Territory.
The proposed Jammu and Kashmir Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026, published in the Official Gazette, says its objective is to enable citizens and enterprises to “plan, invest, and work with confidence” while fostering ease of doing business and ease of living. The Bill seeks to consolidate and amend existing laws and regulatory procedures relating to enterprises.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons says the Centre has undertaken an exercise to reduce the compliance burden on businesses and citizens by simplifying, speeding up and making regulatory processes more efficient without compromising essential safeguards. It says J&K has implemented 20 of the 23 priority reforms identified under Phase I of the Centre’s deregulation and compliance-reduction initiative. Two of the remaining three were considered inapplicable to J&K because of the notification of new Labour Codes, while the government decided not to implement the third, relating to third-party inspection by Fire and Emergency Services.
For Phase II, the Centre has identified 23 priority areas under its initiative linked to the objective of Viksit Bharat, according to the Statement of Objects and Reasons. The J&K government says the proposed legislation will enable implementation of 12 of these priority areas. It adds that six priority areas and one optional area are already regulated under different laws and would otherwise require legislative approval on seven separate occasions. The Bill seeks to consolidate the proposals into a single Cabinet approval and a single legislative approval.
At the core of the proposed framework is the principle of “Permission by Exception”. Under the Bill, an enterprise would be free to undertake any activity unless it is expressly prohibited by law, with prior permission, approval or restriction imposed only where justified by law in furtherance of a legitimate public interest.
The legislation also introduces a “One State Principle”, under which the government would function as a single entity for regulatory compliance. Authorities would not be permitted to demand information, documentation, approvals or processes already available with, or furnished to, another J&K government authority. The Bill further proposes risk-based regulation, requiring the intensity and frequency of regulatory scrutiny and inspection to remain proportionate to the material risk posed by an activity.
Another significant provision is the proposed presumption of approval where an application is not disposed of within the prescribed time. The Bill says an enterprise would become entitled, on expiry of the stipulated period, to the relief, permission, registration, licence, service or other outcome sought, and would not be prejudiced by administrative silence or delay.
The proposed mechanism would begin with a Declaration of Intent by an eligible enterprise. A District Empowered Committee would process the application and issue a Certificate of In-Principle Approval. For new enterprises in approved industrial parks, the certificate is proposed to be issued within three working days. For new enterprises outside approved industrial parks, the decision would have to be taken within 30 working days, while existing enterprises would have a 45-working-day timeline. Failure to take a decision within these periods would result in deemed issuance of the in-principle approval.
The Certificate of In-Principle Approval would operate as an approval under the applicable J&K laws, regulations and bye-laws for three years. Enterprises could subsequently obtain the regular approvals from the concerned departments during that period.
The Bill also proposes a three-year moratorium on inspections and coercive measures relating to approvals, licences, registrations and similar requirements after registration of an enterprise. Such action would require the permission of the Deputy Commissioner. The moratorium would not apply in cases involving complaints of a serious nature, where an inspection could be undertaken after written approval and recording of reasons.
A new Union Territory Ease of Doing Business Council would be headed by the Chief Minister and include ministers handling key departments as members, along with the Chief Secretary. An Executive Committee headed by the Chief Secretary would oversee implementation and function as a single point of contact for investors, coordinating with district-level committees to ensure time-bound approvals.
The proposed Executive Committee would also monitor turnaround time for licences under the Single Window System and could rationalise, add, delete or revise the number of approvals, permits, licences and no-objection certificates, subject to the provisions of the Bill.
At the district level, the Bill gives the District Empowered Committee a particularly strong role. Apart from facilitating in-principle approvals, it could, in specified circumstances, overrule a rejection by a competent district-level authority or grant an approval where the competent authority has failed to act within the prescribed timeframe.
The proposed legislation also seeks to reduce duplication among multiple regulatory authorities. Enterprises registered under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, for example, would not require a separate trade, health trade, eating house or restaurant licence from the local municipal body. Similar exemptions from additional local licensing requirements are proposed for enterprises registered under specified central labour and social-security laws, while other enterprises registered with GST authorities would also be exempted from separate municipal trade licences under the conditions specified in the Bill.
The Bill proposes greater flexibility in notified industrial areas, including removal of restrictions on floor area ratio, setbacks, ground coverage and height, subject to the framework prescribed for such areas. Industrial-area authorities would also be empowered to provide infrastructure and permit long-term leases of industrial plots of up to 99 years.
The proposed framework is not without restrictions. The Bill retains a negative list for specified activities in residential, commercial, agricultural, institutional and other land-use categories. It also preserves the applicability of key environmental, forest and wildlife laws, including the Environment (Protection) Act, Water Act, Air Act, Forest (Conservation) Act and Wildlife (Protection) Act.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons says the proposed law is intended to allow enterprises to plan, invest and operate with greater certainty and to foster ease of doing business and ease of living in a manner that generates employment, attracts investment and sustains long-term economic growth in Jammu and Kashmir.
