Soon, yearly renewal of licenses for shops and commercial establishments, a process plagued by corruption, will become a thing of the past. The State in principle approved a one-time fee for licences on Wednesday. The decision comes a few weeks after the government exempted petrol pumps from yearly renewal of licence.

For commercial units and shops employing more than 10 people, the one-time licence fee has been proposed at Rs 500, while it would be Rs 250 for establishments employing less than 10 people. For residential hotels, the one-time fee is proposed to be Rs 2,500, Rs 1,000 for restaurants and eateries, and Rs 5,000 for theatres and other places of public amusement. For an establishment without any employee, the fee has been proposed at Rs 250.

Wednesday’s nod is a result of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s decision to take steps to make running a business much easier and encourage entrepreneurs.

“As per the Chief Minister’s decision,” said a government release, “units registered under the Gujarat Shop and Commercial Establishment Act can continue their licence by paying a one-time fee, instead of renewing it every year.”

A senior government official said that the annual renewal system was unnecessary, and the proposal to do away with it had been under consideration for quite some time.

The main objective of the act is to regulate the conditions of work and employment in shops, commercial establishments, residential hotels, restaurants, eateries, theatres, other places of public amusement and entertainment, and other establishments.

The revenue from licence renewal goes to the relevant civic body, and doing away with the system could affect their revenue. However, Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra said that the earnings are “insignificant”.

A notification from the government will announce the formalisation of the decision.

LICENCE FEE

• Rs 500: Commercial units employing more than 10 ppl
• Rs 250: For establishments employing less than 10 ppl
• Rs 2,500: Residential hotels
• Rs 1,000: Restaurants
• Rs 5,000: Theatres, malls