Govt collects Rs 3,962 cr via voluntary tax declaration scheme

Government has collected nearly Rs 3,962 crore under the service tax amnesty scheme since its inception in this fiscal, Parliament was informed today.
A total of 66,062 applications were received under the VCES scheme, amounting to a tax collection of Rs 3,961.51 crore, as per data tabled by Minister of State for Finance J D Seelam said in the Lok Sabha.
Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) was introduced in May, 2013 as a one-time amnesty scheme to pay service tax dues for the period between October 1, 2007, to December 31, 2012, without interest and penalty.
Of the 17 lakh registered assessees under Service Tax, only seven lakh were filing returns.

As per the scheme, a defaulter may declare his tax liabilities for the period between October 1, 2007 and December 31, 2012. They would have to pay 50 per cent of the declared tax dues by December 31, 2013.
The scheme was introduced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram while presenting the Union Budget for 2013-14.