Bill in LS to bring down commercial dispute value

New Delhi, Aug 1 :  The Lok Sabha on Wednesday took up for discussion a bill that seeks to bring down the specified value of commercial disputes from the existing Rs 1 crore each to Rs 3 lakh for improving India's standing in the ease of doing business.

Moving the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amend) Bill for consideration and passage, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "Good governance is also part of good economy."

He said that there were 214 commercial courts, and over 2,000 cases of over Rs 1 crore were pending.

The Bill also seeks to withdraw an ordinance brought by the government earlier in 2018. 

It provides for establishment of commercial courts at the district judge level for the territories over which respective high courts have ordinary original civil jurisdiction.

The bill seeks to amend the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and provides for reducing the specified value of commercial disputes from the existing Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 lakh, enabling the parties to approach the lowest level of subordinate courts for speedy resolution of disputes.

Officials said there has been a steep rise in the number of commercial disputes at domestic and international levels. 

Growing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and overseas commercial transactions have also contributed to a significant increase in commercial disputes.

They said bringing down the specified value of commercial disputes would reduce the time taken for resolution of such disputes and improve India's ranking in the ease of doing business.