Govt mulling to use PAN number as unique identifier for businesses for single-window clearance - Details!

The government is considering to allow businesses to use Permanent Account Number (PAN) instead of other data as a unique identifier for entering into national single window system to seek different clearances and approvals of the central and state departments.

At present there are over 13 different business IDs like EPFO, ESIC, GSTN, TIN, TAN and PAN, which are being used to apply for various government approvals.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that his ministry has already approached the department of revenue on the matter.

"We are moving towards using one of the existing databases as the entry point, which is already available with the government...And most probably that will be the PAN number. So with the PAN, a lot of the basic data about the company, its directors, addresses, and a lot of common data is already available in the PAN database," Goyal told reporters here.

The national single window system (NSWS) is aimed at reducing duplicity of information submission to different ministries, reduce compliance burden, cut gestation period of projects, and promote ease of starting and doing business.

NSWS enables the identification, applying and subsequent tracking of approvals for all integrated states and central departments.

He said that use of PAN number will help auto-populate other application forms that will be received in the system and will help speed up the approval process and encourage more companies to apply on the system.

The system currently accepts applications for 248 government-to-business clearance and approvals from 26 central ministries and departments, including states.

So far 19 states/Union Territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Karnataka, and 27 central government departments are already onboarded the system, which was started in September last year and is under beta testing phase.

The minister also informed that at present businesses are taking approvals for different policies including vehicle scrappage policy, ethanol policy, hallmarking of jewellery and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) approvals.

"We will be moving towards newer areas like all inspection approvals, country of origin approvals, export promotion council applications. At the next stage, these will come on the system," he said, adding that all applicants of the production linked incentive scheme are being encouraged to use the system.

He was addressing the media after a review meeting on the National Single Window System in New Delhi on Monday. The meeting witnessed participation from 32 central ministries/departments, 36 states/UTs and industry associations.

NSWS also helps in reducing data duplication and filling the same data in various forms using the auto-population module, he added.

He pointed out that NSWS has received nearly 76,000 applications/requests so far and about 48,000 approvals had been granted.

Renewal of licences would also be brought under NSWS soon starting with five ministries like commerce and industry, consumer affairs, food and public distribution and textiles.

The objectives of the review meeting was to ensure onboarding of investor-related clearances in order to meet timelines.