Rs 99,756 cr disputed tax amount settled under Vivad Se Vishwas scheme, says MoS finance

Minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Monday said Rs 99,756 crore of disputed tax amount was settled under the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, he said the Vivad se Vishwas Scheme is a voluntary scheme to resolve pending direct tax disputes with the taxpayers in an amicable manner. He added that no targets were fixed by the government under the scheme.

Giving further details, the minister said 1,46,701 number of disputes were addressed and 1,32,353 cases were settled. He said the disputed tax amount settled as per the declarations filed was Rs 99,756 crore, and the government received Rs 53,684 crore as payments against disputed tax.

The last date to make a declaration under the scheme was March 31, 2021. However, the last date to make payments under the scheme was extended till August 31, in light of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic raging across the country.

Moreover, taxpayers can make payments with an additional amount of interest till October 31. The Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act was enacted on March 17, 2020, with the purpose of settling direct tax disputes that are stuck in various appellate forums.

The scheme is used to settle disputed tax, disputed interests, disputed penalty or disputed fees in relation to an assessment or reassessment order on payment of 100 per cent of the disputed tax and 25 per cent of the disputed penalty or interest or fee.

Under the scheme, the taxpayer is granted immunity from levy of interest, penalty and the institution of any proceeding for prosecution for any offense under the Income-tax Act in respect of matters covered in the declaration.

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