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Why all Indians are** rule-breakers**
Because the state makes it impossible not to be
Jul 3rd 2025|4 min read
IF YOU HAVE ever relaxed with a cold Kingfisher beer at the end of a long, sweaty day in Mumbai, the party capital of India, you have almost certainly broken the law. Specifically, you violated section 40 of the Bombay Prohibition Act of 1949, under which you must hold a permit to drink booze. A first offence is punishable by a fine of 10,000 rupees ($115) and up to six months in prison.
Welcome to India, where everything is against the law. According to Vidhi, a legal think-tank in Delhi, India has 7,305 crimes at the national level, three-quarters of which attract imprisonment. India is hardly alone in overcriminalisation. But even America, not exactly known as soft on crime, had a more modest 5,199 federal crimes at last count in 2019. China imposes the death penalty for 46 crimes. In India the number is 301 (though rarely applied).
The central government’s ardour for lawmaking and punishment is infectious. India’s 28 states, which control vast swathes of policy, are no less assiduous in regulating everyday life. The state of Uttarakhand, to pick one, requires couples in live-in relationships to register (and pay a fee) within 30 days of shacking up. Failure to comply attracts a fine and up to three months in prison. What of love lost? The unhappy couple must de-register (and pay another fee). Uttarakhand is particularly energetic but few states pass up the chance to make citizens visit the registrar.
Then there are tax rules that make almost everyone cower. Renters paying over a lowish threshold must withhold a proportion of the rent from landlords and deposit it with the state as tax, which can involve obtaining a special tax number and hiring an accountant. Some people must pay income tax four times a year. Penalties for errors or delays are high. In June the authorities increased fines for misreported income or false deductions to “up to 200% of the tax due, 24% annual interest, and even prosecution”. There is no leeway for honest mistakes.
Businesses have it worse. Companies that grow beyond even a small size must compulsorily register for a goods-and-services tax, disincentivising expansion. They must register in each state in which they have any activity, even if they have no physical presence there. They must also pay taxes withheld from buyers every month, regardless of whether they have been paid. Big companies have legal and compliance departments. Small ones struggle. A convoluted tax code means it is easy to mess up.
Beyond the big-ticket items of crime and tax there exists a third category of rules so baffling it defies labels. Cities build fancy new elevated roads only to set speed limits as low as 30km per hour (18mph). Local authorities brick up entrances to public spaces for “safety reasons”. Airport security confiscates packets of spice mixes but allows packets of noodles that contain packets of spice mixes. It is hard to escape the sense that there is no logic behind the rules.
That is because there isn’t, say people who have worked with government. Policy can be made just because an official says “I think it’s a good idea.” To save energy, a central-government minister says air-conditioners should function only between 20°C and 28°C,** boasting of** a “first-of-its-kind experiment”. A minister in Kerala wants to fine people who use their phones while crossing the street. In Goa, a holiday state, a new policy makes it mandatory for beach shacks to serve “freshly cooked Goan cuisine”. The tourism minister stipulates that this means fish curry and rice, though there is no such clause.
The usual excuse for India’s surfeit of laws and rules is colonialism’s legacy. Indeed, in 2023 India decriminalised 183 defunct provisions in 42 laws. The government is working on a second rationalisation and setting up a deregulation commission to ease the burden on business. A tax bill is in the works. These are welcome moves. But the deeper problem lies in the attitudes of politicians and bureaucrats. “We think the state must have a say in every aspect of an individual’s life,” says Arghya Sengupta of Vidhi. “Everything is game for legislation.”
The outcome is to make Indians less law-abiding, not more. Why follow the rules when everything is verboten? Why start a business or expand a successful one if it will only attract attention and more compliance? One high-ranking official complains that the state sets impossibly high standards and then claims that Indians are lawless. But “You have made it impossible for them to follow the law.” ■
為什麼印度人都違規？
因為國家讓人無法不違規
2025年7月3日
如果你曾在孟買──印度的派對之都──結束一整天汗流浹背的日子後，輕鬆地來一瓶冰涼的金飛蛇啤酒，那麼你幾乎可以確定已經違法了。具體來說，你違反了《1949年孟買禁酒法》第40條，根據該法令，飲酒必須持有特別許可證。首次違規可處10,000盧比（約115美元）罰金，甚至可被判處6個月徒刑。
歡迎來到印度——一個萬事皆可能違法的國度。根據德里法律智庫 Vidhi 的統計，印度全國層級的刑事罪行多達7,305項，其中四分之三可處以監禁。印度並非唯一法律過度氾濫的國家；但即使是對犯罪向來強硬的美國，2019年統計時聯邦刑事罪也只有5,199項。中國對46種罪行處以死刑，而印度的數字是301項（雖然極少執行）。
聯邦政府對立法與懲罰的熱情，已傳染至地方。印度的28個邦也熱衷於干預日常生活。舉例來說，北阿坎德邦規定同居情侶必須在30天內登記並繳交費用，否則將面臨罰款與最高三個月的徒刑。若情變分手，還需重新登記取消，並再次繳費。雖說北阿坎德的作法格外積極，但其他邦也幾乎不放過任何一次讓人民跑一趟登記處的機會。
然後是令人膽寒的稅務規定。租金超過一定門檻的房客必須預扣部分租金作為稅金代繳給政府，這往往涉及申請特殊稅號，甚至需聘請會計師。有些人一年必須報繳四次所得稅。錯誤或延誤的罰金極高。今年6月，當局更提高了錯報收入或虛報扣除的罰則：罰金最高為應繳稅額的200%、年息24%，甚至可能遭起訴。誠實錯誤亦無從通融。
企業的處境更為艱難。公司一旦規模稍有擴張，便強制要求登記營業稅（GST），反而成為擴張的阻力。此外，只要企業在某個邦有業務行為（即使沒有實體據點），就必須向該邦登記並繳稅。即使尚未收款，也要預繳從買家那邊預扣的稅金。大公司尚有法務與稽核部門處理，小公司則苦不堪言。複雜的稅制也讓出錯變得再容易不過。
除了刑事與稅務這類重大事項外，還有一類荒謬至極、難以歸類的規定。城市建好高架道路，卻將限速設為30公里／小時。地方政府為了「安全」封磚公園出入口。機場安檢沒收香料包，卻放行內含香料的泡麵包。這些規則彷彿毫無邏輯。
事實上，這正是問題所在。與政府合作過的人坦言，政策常常是官員一句「我覺得這是個好主意」就拍板定案。例如中央部長為了節能，宣稱冷氣溫度應限定在20°C到28°C之間，還說這是「全球首創實驗」。喀拉拉邦的部長建議，行人過馬路時若滑手機應處罰。在渡假勝地果阿邦，新規定則強制海灘小吃店必須供應「現煮的果阿料理」，觀光部長進一步定義為「魚咖哩與米飯」，但法條中卻未明文規定。
這一切的常見藉口，是「殖民遺產」。確實，印度於2023年廢除42部法律中的183條過時條文，並正著手進行第二波法規清理，同時設立「去管制委員會」以減輕企業負擔，稅改法案也正在制定中。這些都是正向發展。
然而，根本問題出在官僚與政治人物的思維模式。Vidhi 的阿加雅‧森古塔（Arghya Sengupta）指出：「我們總認為，國家應該參與個人生活的每一個層面，什麼都可以立法。」
這樣的結果不是讓人民更守法，而是更習於違法。當所有事都被禁止，誰還想遵守規則？誰又願意創業或擴張事業，只為招來更多監管？一名高層官員不滿地說，國家設定了高不可攀的標準，卻又責怪印度人無視法律。但真正的問題是：「你讓他們根本無法守法。」
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