Four days after announcing a scheme to resolve a staggering number of pending direct tax cases, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will bring a bill to give effect to her budget announcement of Vivaad se Vishwas (dispute to trust) in India’s tax mechanism.
The bill, aptly named The Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill, 2020, will be introduced in the Lok Sabha around 12 noon after the Question Hour. The bill aims for resolution of disputed tax and related matters.
In her budget speech on February 1, Sitharaman announced “Vivad se Vishwas” scheme to resolve 483,000 direct tax disputes pending in various tribunals. The scheme offers waivers of penalty and interest if the disputed amount is paid before March 31, 2020.
“This year, I propose to bring a scheme similar to the indirect tax, Sabka Vishwas, for reducing litigation even in direct taxes,” Sitharaman said in her budget speech, seen as a second part of what she said in her maiden budget as FM. In her first Budget, presented last year, Sitharaman had proposed the “Sabka Vishwas”’ legacy dispute resolution scheme for litigation related to excise and service tax payments.
“Under the proposed “Vivad Se Vishwas” scheme, a taxpayer would be required to pay only the amount of the disputed taxes and will get complete waiver of interest and penalty provided he pays by March 31, 2020,” she said.
Both Houses of Parliament will continue to debate on the President’s speech. The Lower House has debated the speech for two days now while the Upper House started its discussions on Tuesday.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and Shaheen Bagh protests had been the focal point of the debate with the Opposition and the ruling side hurling barbs at each other.
On Tuesday, the Congress attacked the government for trying to suggest through the President’s speech that Mahatma Gandhi’s wishes were fulfilled through the contentious Citizenship Act.