24.5% of 500,000 tax disputes resolved: Official

NEW DELHI: The direct tax dispute resolution scheme ‘Vivad se Vishwas 2020’ has attracted 125,144 cases, 24.5% of the total 510,491 long-pending disputes, a finance ministry official has said, adding that, so far, the settlement amount involves over Rs 97,000 crore. “It may be noted that it is due to this huge positive response to the Vivad se Vishwas that the last date to opt for the scheme has been further extended till February 28, 2021,” the official said, requesting anonymity. The Direct Tax ‘Vivad se Vishwas’ Act, 2020 was enacted on March 17, 2020 with the objective to reduce pending income tax litigation, generate timely revenue for the government and to benefit taxpayers by helping them in terms of time and resources that would otherwise be spent on the litigation process.