Govt extends last date for Sabka Vishwas scheme till 15 January for settling disputes of service tax, central excise

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Tuesday extended the ‘Sabka Vishwas Scheme’, a dispute resolution-cum-amnesty scheme for settling pending disputes of service tax and central excise, by 15 days till 15 January. “Keeping in view the response of the taxpayers to the Scheme, the Central Government extended it for a period of fifteen days, till 15 January, 2020. This is one-time and final extension in view of taxpayers’ response,” an official statement said. Those taxpayers who availed the Scheme have committed to paying tax dues of Rs 30,627 crore. [caption id=“attachment_5759311” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had unveiled the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, in the budget for 2019-20 with the objective of settling pending disputes of Service Tax and Central Excise. Live since 1 September, the Sabka Vishwas Scheme 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 ministry, a total 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. Out of the total 1.84 lakh taxpayers who are eligible to avail the Scheme, as many as 1,33,661 taxpayers have so far submitted their applications by the morning of 31 December, 2019. Their applications involve tax dues of Rs 69,550 crore and after availing various reliefs, the payable amount is Rs 30,627 crore. Sabka Vishwas is received by the taxpayers as the most beneficial dispute resolution scheme ever announced by the government, the ministry said. The government has noted a huge interest amongst the taxpayers for this Scheme and would like to ensure that eligible taxpayers who have yet not applied to avail amnesty or relief under this Scheme do not miss out due to the last-minute rush, it said.