'Rising Tax Disputes Causing Trouble For Taxpayers & IT Department': CA Vijay Bansal In Indore

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Senior chartered accountant Vijay Bansal has said that increasing tax disputes are causing trouble for both the taxpayer and the department as they have to bear its cost. With the aim of reducing this, Vivad Se Vishwas scheme was announced in Budget 2024. The scheme is a win-win one for the taxpayers and the department both.

CA Bansal was addressing a seminar organised by Tax Practitioners Association and Indore CA Branch to study the impact of Income Tax's Vivaad se Vishwas Scheme-2024 and the Supreme Court's recent decision to allow GST ITC in the Safari Retreat case.

CA Vijay Bansal spoke on Vivaad se Vishwas Scheme and CA Krishna Garg spoke on Safari Retreat case. CA Bansal said that the scheme deals with the pending income tax disputes at any level on 22 July 2024. Such as pending appeals (Commissioner's Appeal, Income Tax Tribunal, High Court, Supreme Court), pending or settled matters before the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) and other cases can be included in it. The administration, manner, filing procedure of this scheme is similar to the Direct Tax ‘Vivaad se Vishwas Scheme introduced in 2020’.

The taxpayer can apply for this scheme by opting for the tax payment option given in this scheme and can get relief in interest and penalty to a great extent. This is the first time that the department has brought such an attractive amnesty scheme in a short span of 4 years. This move of the government is definitely welcome and reflects the government's commitment to reduce tax disputes.

Another speaker, CA Krishna Garg said that in the Safari Retreats case, the Supreme Court allowed ITC benefits on construction and lease of commercial property, warehouse, builders and taxpayers doing rental business. He said that the Supreme Court has given a big relief to the real estate industry by allowing the benefit of input tax credit on the construction cost of commercial buildings given on lease.

This decision is expected to boost investment in the commercial real estate sector. This will also reduce the financial burden of rent on the tenants of commercial space.

Mall builders and many other real estate companies are expected to get a big relief from this decision because the building will also be considered as a plant in taxation. CA Garg said that apart from commercial real estate, many other industries are also likely to benefit from this, because ITC will also be applicable on the rent of commercial properties taken on rent by them. This will reduce their financial burden. It is believed that the benefit of ITC received from this decision will be considered retrospectively i.e. applicable from before.