Over Rs 5,000 Crore Dues Declared Under ‘Sabka Vishwas Scheme’

Dues worth more than Rs 5,000 crore have been declared so far under the government's 'Sabka Vishwas Scheme' for settling pending disputes of service tax and central excise, a report by news agency PTI said.

Sabka Vishwas Scheme, 2019, or the Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget, to settle pending disputes of Service Tax and Central Excise.

A mid-term revealed that a total of Rs 5,472 crore, inclusive of pre-deposit amount of Rs 4,225 crore, has already been declared under the scheme, as per PTI's sources.

Efforts are now being made to maximise the declarations by 31 December 2019, the deadline for the scheme.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has asked its principal chief commissioners to be proactive in persuading eligible taxpayers to take advantage of the said scheme. The performance of the field formations would also be judged on this basis.

At the launch of the scheme, it was noted that a total of Rs 3.6 lakh crore was locked up in 1.83 lakh crore cases at various quasi-judicial, appellate and judicial forums under Service Tax and Central Excise, collectively.

GST's (Goods and Service Taxes) introduction has subsumed these taxes, giving taxpayers (especially MSMEs) as well as government to settle cases associated with them.