Government to improve ease of doing business; to introduce Business Identification Number for companies

To improve ease of doing business, the government will soon introduce Business Identification Number (BIN) for companies, doing away with multiple registration numbers a single entity needs to obtain for various regulatory purposes.

The BIN would act as an identification number for different regulatory purposes and do away with the need for procuring separate registration numbers such as Company Identification Number and Labour Identification Number.

Normally, a company is required to obtain 18 different registration numbers.

As per the proposal, the permanent account number (PAN) may become the BIN for companies, an official said.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is discussing the matter with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

"The DIPP is expected to come out with the BIN in the next 2-3 months. It will help in reducing the time of registration processes of the companies," the official said adding the firms will have to apply for the BIN on the e-Biz portal.

The portal provides one-stop clearance platform for investment proposals.

India has been ranked at 130th for 2016 among 189 countries in the World Bank report on ease of doing business, improving four places from last year's ranking. The government is aiming to bring India into the top 50 ranks.

Several initiatives have been taken up by the government for improving ease of doing business in India through simplification and rationalisation of the existing rules and introduction of information technology to make governance more efficient and effective.