The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday announced a new scheme with waivers and concessions for settling pending tax dues of about Rs 25,000 crore, of which a majority are under the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax and other legacy tax legislations. Announcing the scheme in the assembly under Rule 110, CM M K Stalin said the scheme will be in force for four months (October 16, 2023 to February 15, 2024).
The Samadhan scheme was earlier introduced in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011. However, a substantial amount of arrears due to the government are still pending. On the request of several trade associations for the reintroduction of the scheme, the legislation adopted said that the government has decided to give another opportunity to the dealers to settle the arrears of tax, penalty and interest payable to the government.
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Over 2.11 lakh cases involving over 2.41 lakh traders and commercial establishments were pending in court. “The cases have become a burden on officials, and have caused hardship to traders and financial loss to the government,” Stalin said, explaining the reason for coming up with the scheme.
As per details of the scheme, traders whose dues are below Rs 50,000, including taxes, interest and penalty, are eligible for a complete waiver. “This is the first time in Tamil Nadu that the taxes to be paid by small traders are fully waived. A total of 95,502 small traders will benefit from the scheme,“ Stalin said.
