No: 1 Dated: Feb, 06 2020

THE PUNJAB RIGHT TO BUSINESS ACT, 2020

(Punjab Act No. 1 of 2020)

    An Act to provide for ease of doing business for the newly incorporated Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises through an enabling eco-system for self-declaration, exemptions, speedier approvals and inspections to establish and operate in the State of Punjab and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

    Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Punjab in the Seventieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1. Short title and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Punjab Right to Business Act, 2020.

(2) It shall come into force on and with effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "Approval" means acknowledgement, no objection certificate, consent, registration, permission, license and such other similar instrument by whatever name called, required under any Punjab law with regard to the establishment or operations of an enterprise in the State of Punjab;

(b) "Approved Industrial Park" means an Industrial Area, Industrial Focal Point, Industrial Estate, Mixed-use Industrial Park, Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Textile Park, Biotech Park, Information Technology (IT) Park, Industrial Township, Growth Centre, Food-Processing Park or any other similar project approved by the competent authority of the Government or the Central Government, as the case may be;

(c) "Certificate of In Principle Approval" means an approval referred to in section 10 of this Act;

(d) "Competent Authority" means any department or agency of the Government or a local authority, statutory body, State owned corporation or board, Urban Development Authorities or any other authority or agency constituted or established by any Punjab law or under administrative control of the Government which is entrusted with the powers or responsibilities to grant or issue approvals for the establishment or operation of an enterprise in the State;

(e) "Declaration of Intent" means submission of relevant and accurate information, by an enterprise under any Punjab law for the purpose of availing of the benefit under this Act;

(f) "Deemed Approval" means an approval deemed to have been given on the expiry of a period specified under sub-section (3) of section 10 of this Act;

(g) "District Bureau of Enterprise" means the Bureau established under section 3 of this Act;

(h) "Enterprise" means a micro, small or medium enterprise, as defined in clause (e) of section 2 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006;

(i) "Government" means the "Government of the State of Punjab;

(j) "Nodal Agency' means the Nodal Agency referred to in section 5 of this Act;

(k) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(l) "Punjab law" means any law enacted or adopted by the Legislature of the State of Punjab;

(m) "Scrutiny Committee" means the committee referred to in section 9 of this Act; and

(n) "State" means the State of Punjab.