Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified April 30 as the last date, on or before which a declaration in respect of tax arrears can be filed by taxpayers under the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Scheme, 2024. This declaration is meant to be made to the designated authority, the CBDT circular says.
Income Tax India – via its X handle– shared the news on Wednesday. For those who are unaware, Vivad Se Vishwas is a scheme to allow taxpayers to settle tax-related disputes with the income tax department.
“This notification would mean that all those tax-payers who want to opt for this scheme can file declarations to the designated authority on or before 30th April, 2025. This is the first time that a deadline has been notified and tax-payers may take benefit of the scheme till month end. Also one should take care that the scheme applies only for disputes which were pending as on 22nd July, 2024,” says CA Kinjal Bhuta, secretary, Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society.
What is the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme?
Taxpayers facing income tax disputes can choose to settle their tax disputes under this scheme. This was announced in Budget 2024 and enables taxpayers to pay a lower tax amount
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced this scheme in July last year to allow taxpayers to settle outstanding income tax issues. Vivad Se Vishwas 2.0 became operational on 1 October 2024.
What is the eligibility to apply?
According to the Income Tax Department, all appeals that are outstanding as of July 22, 2024, will be eligible for Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme 2024 regardless of whether they are eventually withdrawn or disposed of.
Before applying for this scheme, if a taxpayer’s appeal was disposed off or dismissed, can one still opt for it?
Yes, such cases are eligible for settlement under the Scheme so long as the appeal was pending as on July 22, 2024. Disputed tax will be calculated in the same manner as if the appeal pending on 22.7.2024 is yet to be disposed off.
What to do to know more about this?
In order to address these queries and more, the Income Tax Department recently released a set of FAQs i.e., frequently asked questions, and uploaded them on its portal.
The scheme can not be availed when the proceedings are pending before Income Tax Settlement Commission, reveals these FAQs.
Also, when review petitions are pending before High Courts or Supreme Court, these cases are not eligible for settlement under the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024.
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