Sources in the Finance Ministry said that the Central Public Sector Units (CPSEs) and other taxpayers have paid tax of Rs 72,480 crore against the disputed demand under the Dispute Service Trust Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme till November 17.
Sources said that the disputed amount related to CPSE under this scheme is Rs 1,00,195 crore, while the amount of other taxpayers is Rs 31,734 crore.
The amounts were revealed on Wednesday during a high-level meeting of the Income Tax Department to review the progress made by the scheme.
Sources further said that a total of 45,855 declarations have been filed by other taxpayers, although the number of declarations filed by CPSE is not known.
Net direct tax collection during the first six months of FY 2020-21 is Rs 3.2 lakh crore, down 31.5% from Rs 4.6 lakh crore in the previous year. Rs 1.5 lakh crore has come from corporate tax and Rs 1.66 lakh crore from income tax. India has reduced the corporate tax rate to 22% for existing companies and 15% for new manufacturing units from FY 2020-21 if the rebate is not availed.
There will be some cushioning of the lack of thanks to collections under Vivaad Se Vishwas. However given the impact of corporate tax rate cuts and Covid, it is unlikely that collections will break the target set in the budget, ”said Rohinton Sidhwa, tax partner at Deloitte India.
The department has decided to adopt a proactive approach for implementing declarations by regularly monitoring the issue of Form 3 for taxpayers who have completed the declarations, to meet any spending reforms or to finalize the demand Appeal is given effect.
Sources said that the department will also launch an e-campaign to inform the taxpayers about the scheme, which will facilitate them to file declarations and address the difficulties or problems faced by them for the benefit of the scheme.
As a result of making a declaration under the plan and meeting the conditions, all appeals are withdrawn by the taxpayer and the department.
Due to the Covid-19 epidemic situation, the deadline for filing declarations under the scheme has been extended till December 31, 2020, and the payment deadline has been extended to March 31, 2021, without paying interest and penalty.
Experts said the expansion under this scheme would give taxpayers more time, and therefore higher collection for the government through dispute resolution. The Confidence Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme was launched on March 17, 2020, following the approval of Parliament, to reduce litigation.
The scheme provides for an order in respect of disputed tax, disputed interest, disputed penalty, or disputed charge in respect of payment of 100% on disputed tax or 25% of disputed penalty or interest or fee.
The taxpayers are waived off from interest, penalty, and levy of any institution for any proceedings for prosecution for any offense under the Income Tax Act about the matters involved in the declaration.
