New Delhi, Nov. Nov 12 : In a bid to help the trade and industry in the newly formed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Central government on Thursday decided to extend the period for availing the Sabka Vishwas Legacy Dispute Resolution (SVLDR) scheme to December 31, 2020 for eligible taxpayers from these UTs.
The decision is expected to provide relief to taxpayers of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh who faced genuine difficulties in availing the scheme during the original period of operation. The extension gives these taxpayers a fresh opportunity to settle their past tax disputes.
The SVLDR scheme was introduced on September 1, 2019 with the objective of reducing litigation and disputes relating to legacy taxes, namely Central Excise and Service Tax, so that taxpayers could focus on GST.
The scheme provided taxpayers relief in payment of disputed tax amounts ranging from 70 per cent (of the tax amount) to 40 per cent. It also provided for full waiver of interest and penalty. The scheme closed on June 30, 2020.
Despite the impact of Covid-19, the SVLDR scheme evoked good response and a total 1,89,225 declarations involving total tax dues of Rs 89,823 crore were received by the government. The scheme also led to recovery of Rs 27,866 crore.
The decision to extend the period for availing the scheme would provide people a level playing field with the thousands of other taxpayers across the country who took the advantage of the scheme.
The Finance Ministry would soon issue detailed guidelines about the operation of the scheme in the J&K and Ladakh.
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