NEW DELHI: After announcing a scheme in her Budget speech to resolve pending Direct Tax cases, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday introduced ‘Vivad se Vishwas’ (no dispute but trust) Bill in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to provide resolution for disputed tax cases worth Rs 9.32 lakh crore.
Under the scheme, taxpayers whose tax demands are locked in dispute in multiple forums can pay due taxes by March 31, 2020 and get complete waiver of interest and penalty.
Further, the appeal may also be against the tax determined on defaults in respect of tax deducted at source (TDS) or tax collected at source (TCS).
The scheme details mention that once the taxpayer avails to resolve the dispute with the tax authority under this scheme then the amount payable shall be considered final and such cases will not be reopened in any other proceeding under the Income-Tax Act.
However, the bill will not be applicable in a case where the prosecution has been instituted on or before the date of filing of declaration and relating to any undisclosed income from a source located outside India or an undisclosed asset located outside India.
This will not be an open-ended scheme and can be availed only for a limited time. Those who avail this scheme after March 31, 2020, will have to pay some additional amount. The scheme will remain open till June 30, 2020.
Introducing the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill 2020, the minister said this bill aimed to resolve disputed tax and related matters and emphasised on trust-building.
The finance minister added that the proposed bill will come into force on the date it receives the assent of the president.
Under the scheme