Centre likely to get over Rs 39,500 crore under Sabka Vishwas Scheme

The government is expected to realise Rs 39,500 crore from the Sabka Vishwas Scheme, a dispute resolution-cum-amnesty scheme for settling pending disputes of service tax and central excise, according to sources.

This will act as a big booster for the government, which is staring at revenue shortage from both direct and indirect taxes.

Nearly 1.90 lakh applications involving duties of about Rs 90,000 crore were filed during the amnesty window which closed on January 15, sources said.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) closed the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme with duty payable being Rs 39,591.91 crore (Rs 24,770.61 crore pre-deposit and Rs 14,821.30 crore freshly payable), the sources said adding that out of this, Rs 1,855.10 is already paid.

Total 1,89,215 applications involving a total duty of Rs 89,823.32 crore were filed, one of the sources said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had unveiled the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, in the Budget 2019-20 with the objective of settling pending disputes of service tax and central excise.

The Sabka Vishwas Scheme, which became operational on September 1, 2019, provides a one-time window to eligible persons to declare their tax dues and pay the same in accordance with the provisions.

According to the finance ministry, a total of Rs 3.6 lakh crore is locked up in 1.83 lakh cases at various quasi-judicial, appellate and judicial forums under service tax and central excise put together.

The introduction of the goods and services tax regime, which has subsumed these legacy taxes, has given an opportunity to the government and also to taxpayers to settle these cases.

Under this scheme, relief is to the tune of 70 per cent of the duty involved if it is Rs 50 lakh or less, and that of 50 per cent if it is more than Rs 50 lakh.

This scheme was for cases pending in adjudication or appeal or in investigation and audit in latter cases, the duty involved must be quantified and communicated or admitted by the taxpayer in a statement on or before June 30, 2019.

In cases of outstanding arrears of revenue, the relief is 60 per cent of the duty amount if it is Rs 50 lakh or less and 40 per cent if it is more than Rs 50 lakh.

In all cases, there is full waiver of interest and penalty and exemption from prosecution. There are, however, some exclusions, such as if the person is convicted in the same case.