Maharashtra Govt notifies Settlement of Arrears of Tax, Interest, Penalty or Late Fee Act,2023

The Government of Maharashtra has notified the enactment of the Maharashtra Settlement of Arrears of Tax, Interest, Penalty or Late Fee Act, 2023.

The Bill was proposed and presented to provide for settlement of arrears of tax, interest, penalty or late fee which were levied, payable or imposed, respectively, under various Acts administered by the Goods and Services Tax Department and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The Act lays down the provisions for the following: –

• Designated Authority
• Adjustment and determination of arrears of tax, interest, penalty or late fee, if any, eligible for settlement
• Write off in respect of certain amounts
• Determination of requisite amount and extent of waiver
• Options and duration for payment of requisite amount
• Conditions for settlement
• Application for settlement of arrears
• Order of settlement
• Appeal against order passed under this Act
• Review of order passed under this Act
• Bar on reopening of settled cases under Relevant Act
• Revocation of order of settlement
• No refund under this Act
• Power of Commissioner under this Act
• Power to remove difficulty

The Statement of Objects and Reasons Part further clarified the following : –

With a view to give effect to the proposals contained in the Budget Speech for the financial year 2023-2024, the Government considers it expedient to provide for settlement of arrears of tax, interest, penalty or late fee which were levied, payable or imposed under the various Acts administered by the Goods and Services Tax Department.

Prior to the implementation of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (Mah. XLIII of 2017) with effect from the 1st July 2017, various Tax Laws were in force in the State. As sizeable portion of the recovery is locked under litigation, in order to unlock the amount involved in the outstanding dues and reduce the old pending litigations, the Government Considers it expedient to provide for a scheme for settlement of arrears of tax, interest, penalty or late fee under the Relevant Act, for the specified period ending on or before the 30th June 2017.

As a relief to small industries, traders and other dealers who are under financial stress, the Government considers it expedient to provide a scheme for waiver as well as lump sum payment option upto a specified limit for settlement of dues and closure of old pending litigations. Bigger dealers who are in financial crunch, an option to settle their arrears with

payments in installments are provided.

In all, the scheme safeguards the revenue in respect of undisputed tax with an incentive towards the partial waiver of disputed tax, interest, penalty or late fee.

Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates