Tax dept sends SMS, emails to appellants on resolution scheme

With over Rs 5.16 lakh crore locked up in tax disputes before Commissioners, the revenue department has started sending emails and SMSes to assessees, asking them to avail of the ongoing one-time dispute scheme which will close by December end. About 2.59 lakh cases are pending adjudication before Commissioner I-T (Appeals) as on February 2016 involving disputed tax worth over Rs 5.16 lakh. It is estimated that each Commissioner would have some 400 cases pending.

The Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, introduced from June 1 to December 31, seeks to address the issue of pending litigation before these commissioners. "We have started sending SMS and emails to these assessees from the beginning of this week," an official said, adding that so far the response to the scheme has been lacklustre but the CBDT expects the scheme to pick up pace by December. The scheme will help tax payers resolve litigation, while the tax department could reduce its administrative cost in disposing appeals and also collect due taxes. The official said the CIT(A) has already drawn up a list of cases which would be eligible for this Scheme and has intimated to Principal CIT. This may include cases where appeal has been filed against mandatory interest, mandatory fees, and any other case found fit in the opinion of the CIT(A).

As per the Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, once an assessee decides to avail the scheme, the tax officer shall ascertain the amount of tax to be paid within 60 days of receiving the declaration.

The tax officer will then issue a certificate to the assessee, who will be required to make a pay the tax amount within 30 days. The tax department has already asked its officers to proactively encourage assessees to take advantage of the one-time tax dispute resolution scheme, ending on December 31.