Liberal terms and a wider scope helped the latest direct tax amnesty scheme Vivad se Vishwas (VsV) resolve 294% more cases and settled disputes worth over ₹1 lakh crore compared to a similar scheme launched in 1998 that reconciled about 34,000 cases involving a mere ₹739 crore, government data showed on Monday.
The Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme (KVSS) launched on September 1, 1998, and closed on January 31, 1999, resolved 33,918 disputes involving ₹738.74 crore as against 133,837 cases resolved under VsV, covering a disputed amount of ₹1,00,437 crore, the data showed.
The performance of yet another tax incentive scheme Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme (DTDRS) launched in 2016 was worse in terms of numbers as it could resolve only 8,653 cases involving disputes worth ₹631.07 crore. This scheme was launched on June 1, 2016, for six months, but later extended to January 31, 2017.
A comparative analysis of data showed that the latest scheme, VsV, was more liberal compared to the previous schemes in its terms. While KVSS covered cases pending up to the Supreme Court, DTDRS’s scope was limited to appeals pending at the level of commissioner of income tax. VsV covered all pending appeals as on January 31, 2020, up to the apex court, matters pending before the dispute resolution panel and revision petitions.