insights

Cover story
The Importance
of undertaking
Regulatory
Impact
Assessment
The process to ensure that
proposed regulations achieve
an optimum implementation
involves an assessment of the
costs and benefits of the proposed
legislation. More importantly, it
includes an assessment of the
different options available and the
selection of the best option.
The design of sound and smart
regulations is key to the proper
functioning of the business
environment and the community at
large. This process is commonly
known as Regulatory Impact
Assessment (RIA). Regulations
create many benefits for companies
and for the public at large. They
help to improve public health and
safety, and they provide social
and environmental benefits for
the population. They also provide
legal certainty for consumers and
companies in the process of buying
and selling products and services.
16 insights
Evidence in the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) countries
suggests that “RIA is one of the
best analytical instruments to
identify the potential impacts of the
proposed legislation and to provide
guidance on the best policy options
to implement.” RIA is a useful tool to
provide information to policy makers
before a decision is taken.
Regulatory Impact Assessment can
be used to assess:
• All potential impacts of
legislations on society,
health, environment and the
economy
• All regulations: formal
legislation (laws, ordinances,
decrees, decisions,
masterplan) and quasiregulations
(codes of
practice, public awareness
campaigns, etc)
• Distribution of impacts
to consumers, business,
employees, and other
groups).
RIA is not a substitute to decision
making but is best used as a guiding
instrument to improve and enhance