GUWAHATI, March 3 - The State government is planning to roll out the entire application of the newly-launched single window clearance system for ease of doing business in Assam.
Senior State government officials told The Assam Tribune that the e-governance initiative, launched on February 29 by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, will help the entrepreneur to get speedy clearances in a transparent and time-bound manner.
�The single window clearance system has been developed by the Government of Assam under the e-governance initiative. Under this system, e-filing, management and tracking of various licences, NOCs, registrations, returns and all compliances required by any department to establish or operate a business will become online right from application till certificate generation,� said an official.
He added, �The entire application will be rolled out in a phased manner within three months. The front-end for the user and the back-end with departments� work flow management system is ready. In the first phase certain application forms of the pollution control department, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), power department, taxation, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and Registrar of Firms and Society are being made online in the website www.easeofdoingbusinessassam.in.�
All the online applications submitted by an entrepreneur will be processed and managed by the department concerned online at their backend system, developed and hosted on a cloud server.
�Status racking and customised report generation at every level in ensured. The coordination of all the departments to grant an approval or licence can be centrally monitored,� said the official.
Sources said that Assam ranked 22nd among all the states in an �Ease of Doing Business 2015� survey.
�We want our State to move up the ladder and become a business and investment-friendly destination. The number of business enterprises in Assam is growing every day. So, to regulate and facilitate these enterprises as well as to attract fresh investment in the State, an easy computerised clearance system under e-governance initiative was needed so that all applications, information, rules and regulations, returns, among other things, of all the departments can be filed or accessed from a single website. A single window clearance system was needed which can act as a common platform for an entrepreneur to apply online for all registrations, licences and permission required by any department to set up an enterprise (both manufacturing and service sector) with management and tracking system for ease of operation both of user and the department,� said an official.
Gathering correct economic data from this system is another objective of the State government so as to judge the economical parameters of the State.
�The Assam Ease of Doing Business Ordinance, 2016� was also promulgated on February 26 with approval of the Cabinet with this intention.
Under this Act, a separate entity will be created with a post of CEO to facilitate investment in Assam with all major departments as stakeholders in the entity.
�There are many advantages to the system. An entrepreneur can now sit at home or office and directly apply for permission or submit his renewals and returns online. Just registering his business or enrolling in the website the entrepreneur can avail all the information, procedures, acts and rules, timelines, checklist to be submitted and so on of a department concerned and as per given rules, apply online. Besides, a Unique Business Identification Number will be given to every business enterprise,� sources said.
They added that a process of self-certification has been introduced by the industries and commerce department where citizens and business establishments can give the self-certified certificates of the schemes and documents related to permission, clearance and so on.
�If the self-certification is found to be false, stringent measures will be taken against the party concerned as per The Assam Ease of Doing Business Ordinance, 2016,� said an official.
