Need to revisit anti-corruption Act provisions, says FM Arun Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday pressed for amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act as "its provisions are often a hindrance to economic development".

The minister asked investigators to be careful in court-monitored probes and differentiate between an act of corruption and an honest error.

"We need to revisit provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act since the departments concerned and civil servants were reluctant to take decisions. Phrases like corrupt mean, public interest and pecuniary advantages have to be redefined in the present context to differentiate between the act of corruption and honest error," Jaitley said on Monday.

Jaitley was speaking at the 16th DP Kohli Memorial Lecture organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the memory of its founding director.

"If the other categories are criminally dealt with, it will be a deterrent for expeditious and honest economic decision...the environment of suspicion with regard to decision-making has to end," he added.

A Bill to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is pending before Parliament. Promising business-friendly environment to woo foreign investments, he made it clear that retrospective tax will not be imposed and that taxation policy has to be non-adversarial.

"Our taxation process has to be simpler to increase tax buoyancy. Our taxation policy has to be non-adversarial. The government does not intend to tax people retrospectively," Jaitley said.

He said that the corporate tax structure has to be globally competitive and that is why the government has proposed to reduce it from 30 to 25 per cent in this year's Budget.

"Decision-making has to be much quicker. The process of political consensus has to be statesman-like and mature," he said.

He also said that agriculture as well as infrastructure sectors face serious challenges due to lack of investment.

"Highways programme has slowed down and investment has not come in railways. We have to invest Rs 70,000 crore ininfrastructure sector and that is why we have to little delay the fiscal road map", Jaitley said.

"Weaker government and a power centre outside government did not help," the finance minister said in an apparent remark referring to the last UPA regime.

He said, "the onus to take decisions lies on his NDA government as after 30 years a clear mandate has been given and a single largest party has come to power."

"Sectors like defence and real estate have been opened up for larger global investment", Jaitley said citing decisions taken in the present regime so far.

Flanked by the Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Comptroller and Auditor General on his side, he said, "the CBI has to have the sixth sense to master the art of extracting truth and perfection."

"Country cannot afford to see two institutions - judiciary and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)- to be imperfect," Jaitley said.