More documents needed to open a restaurant than to buy a pistol, says Economic Survey 2019-20

36 approvals are required to open a restaurant in Bengaluru, Delhi requires 26, and Mumbai 22.

It takes more documents to open a restaurant in Delhi as compared to documents needed for a license to procure new arms and major fireworks, says the Economic Survey for 2019-20.

According to the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), a total of 36 approvals are required to open a restaurant in Bengaluru, Delhi requires 26, and Mumbai 22. Moreover, Delhi and Kolkata also require a ‘Police Eating House License’. The number of documents needed to obtain this license from Delhi Police is 45 – far more than the number of documents required for a license to procure new arms and major fireworks, 19 and 12 respectively.

The Survey says the services sector faces many regulatory hurdles even for routine businesses. Stating that the bars and restaurants sector is an important source of employment and growth everywhere in the world, India puts significant hurdles in starting one.

A survey showed that the number of licenses required to open a restaurant in India are significantly more than elsewhere. While China and Singapore require only four licenses, India requires several more mandatory licenses and approvals.

Moreover, in India, only the list of licenses and permissions can be obtained from a government portal or information center. On the other hand, in New Zealand, the website of Auckland Council (operated by a private third-party agency) has all detailed guides and stepwise procedures about permissions, fees and timeline to open a restaurant. The website is also equipped with ready-to-use business plan templates and comprehensive information on different businesses irrespective of the scale of business. The contrast reflects a difference in approach – government control versus curation/ partnership.