Tax compliance timelines extended by two months

NEW DELHI: To ease hardships faced by taxpayers amid the second wave of Covid-19, the government has extended the deadline for several tax compliances including making payment under the Vivad se Vishwas scheme to June 30. It has also extended the due date for issuance of notice for reopening of assessment by tax officers where income has escaped assessment and sending intimation of processing of Equalisation Levy till June 30.

“The time for payment of the amount payable under the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020, without an additional amount, has been extended to June 30,” Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement. The deadline for filing declaration under the scheme ended on March 31.

The Vivad Se Vishwas scheme provides for settlement of disputed tax, interest, penalty or fees in relation to an assessment or reassessment order on payment of 100 per cent of the disputed tax and 25 per cent of the disputed penalty or interest or fee. The taxpayer is granted immunity from levy of interest, penalty and institution of any proceeding for prosecution for any offence under the Income-tax Act in respect of matters covered in the declaration. CBDT said it had received requests from taxpayers, tax consultants and other stakeholders to extend time barring dates in view of the severe COVID-19 pandemic raging unabated across the country.

The scheme had netted about ?54,000 crore to the exchequer till early April and more is expected to come in based on the declarations already filed.“While it’s a welcome move, that no additional amount payable under the Vivad se Vishwas has been extended to June 30, it would have been good if they would have also extended the filing deadline beyond March 31 for such category to say May 31 so that more taxpayers could avail of the scheme,” said Karishma Phatarphekar, partner, Deloitte India. Further the government can consider enhancing the scope of the scheme to cover taxpayers whose appeal are pending beyond January 31, 2020. “It would be timely if the government can also extend the deadline for filing appeals
before CIT(A) or ITAT,” pointed out Phatarphekar.