TS offers OTS for pending taxes

The state government on Monday announced ‘one-time settlement scheme’ (OTS) to recover over `3,000 crore longpending arrears pertaining to commercial taxes.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar issued orders to this effect. The orders said that the state governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar and West Bengal had introduced OTS to recover disputed taxes and the Telangana government also decided to follow suit.

With regard to general sales tax arrears, 40 per cent of the balance tax will be collected from dealers and the remaining 60 per cent will be waived. For VAT and Central sales tax arrears, 50 per cent of balance tax will be collected and the remaining 50 per cent will be waived. For entry tax on motor vehicles and goods, 60 per cent of balance tax will be collected and remaining 40 per cent will be waived, according to the order.

For dealers availing the above scheme, the interest and penalty shall be waived. No refunds will be given under this scheme.

The OTS of tax arrears will be executed through an online module. The dealer shall apply for scheme through an online application. If any dealer is no more in business, he can apply offline in the respective jurisdictional circles of the commercial taxes department.

For the amounts payable higher than `25 lakh, equal instalment facility will be provided without interest for up to four month. Bank interest rates will be applied for those seeking more instalments.

Applications will be accepted online from May 16 to 30. Scrutiny of applications for confirming the arrears and intimation will be done from July 1 to 15. Submission of settlement letter by tax payer and payment of agreed amount are scheduled from July 16 to August 15.