Parliament on Monday that the government had collected Rs 53,346 crore via the Vivad Se Vishwas direct tax dispute resolution scheme until February 22. “Yes,” said Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur in response to a question in the Lok Sabha about whether the government was able to achieve its goal of settling income tax cases after introducing the Vivad se Vishwas scheme. According to him, more than 1.28 lakh declarations have been filed under the scheme, which involves a tax dispute worth Rs 98,328 crore. A total of Rs 53,346 crore has been paid as contested tax payments. The central public sector undertakings (PSUs) have paid Rs 27,720 crore, state PSUs have paid Rs 1,023 crore, and others have paid Rs 24,603 crore.
Elements of Vivad se Vishwas
Concerning an assessment or reassessment order, the Vivad Se Vishwas scheme allows for the settlement of disputed tax, disputed interest, disputed penalty, or disputed fees. The disagreement is resolved by paying 100% of the disputed tax and 25% of the disputed penalty, interest, or charge. With the matters covered in the declaration, the taxpayer is given protection from interest, punishment, and the institution of any action for prosecution for any offence under the Income Tax Act. On March 17, 2020, the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020, was enacted to resolve direct tax disputes lodged in various appellate forums.
Last month, the income tax department extended the deadlines for filing decelerations and making payments under the Vivad Se Vishwas direct tax dispute resolution scheme until March 31 and April 30. According to Thakur, 6.78 crore income tax returns were filed in the fiscal year 2019-20, up from 6.74 crores in 2018-19. 6.87 crore ITRs were filed in 2017-18.
COVID-19, according to Thakur, has resulted in a decrease in indirect tax collection. The net direct tax collection for the fiscal year 2019-20 was Rs 10,50,711 crore. The direct tax collection estimate for the financial year 2020-21 has been reduced to Rs 9,05,000 crore due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The net collection of direct taxes amounting to Rs 7,32,388.72 crore achieved from April 1, 2020 -February 28, 2021, compared to the Revised Budget Estimates of Direct Tax Target of Rs 9,05,000 crore,” Thakur added.
