Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme for pre-GST conflicts

Coming to the rescue of businesses struggling due to unresolved issues pertaining to pre-Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and the delay in payments of Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs), the Buget on Friday announced a Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme and a payment platform for ending disputes.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that Rs 3.75 lakh crore was stuck in pending cases of service tax and excise duty and the Sabka Vishwas Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme 2019, will address the problem. 

The GST regime was rolled out in July 2017 subsuming excise duty and service tax along with 15 other indirect taxes. 

The minister said that the pending cases has been one of the major concerns of the Modi government. "There is a need to unload this baggage and allow business to move on," she said, adding that traders and businesses should take advantage of the scheme to end their disputes.

In case of voluntary disclosures, there will be relief of waiver of interest and penalty on payment of full tax dues disclosed and the person discharged under the scheme would not be liable for prosecution.

The government has also proposed a payment platform to help MSMEs recover the money from business transactions. IANS