Term Settlement Commission under GST
A brief description about Settlement Commission is explained here. You may contact concerned government agency for latest update.
Settlement Commission
Settlement Commission is a premier Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body in India. Its mandate is to resolve tax disputes in respect of Indian Income Tax & Wealth Tax Laws between the two disputing parties, Income Tax Department on one side and litigating tax payer on the other.
The basic objectives of setting up of the Settlement Commission under GST:-
I. To provide an alternate channel for dispute resolution for the taxpayer;
II. To expedite payment of GST involved in disputes by avoiding costly and time consuming litigation process;
III. To provide an opportunity to tax payers to come clean who may have evaded payment of tax;
IV. To serve as a forum for the taxpayer to apply for settlement of their cases, on the basis of true and complete disclosure of their tax liability;
V. To encourage quick settlement of disputes and save the business from the worries of prosecution in certain situations.
The settlement mechanism allows taxpayers to disclose additional Income before it over and above what has been already disclosed before the Income tax Department. The applicant has to pay full amount of tax and interest on the additional income disclosed before the Commission, before filing the application. The Commission then decides upon the admissibility of the application and in case of admitted applications, carries out the process of settlement in a time bound manner by giving opportunity to both parties.
The Commission is required to pass the Settlement order within 18 months of filling of the application. It has wide power of granting immunity from Penalty and prosecution, which are major sources of litigation. The orders passed by the Commission are final and conclusive.
At present the benefit of the settlement mechanism can be availed by a taxpayer only once in life-time, who has made the first application on or after1st June, 2007.
Powers of Settlement Commission:
The Settlement Commission has powers to grant immunity from prosecution for any offence under the Central Excise Act, the Customs Act or under the Indian Penal Code or under any other Central Act for the time being in force in respect of the case covered by the Settlement Commission.
The Commission also has powers to grant immunity either wholly or in part from the imposition of any penalty and fine under the Central Excise Act or the Customs Act, as the case may be in respect of the case covered by the Settlement Commission.
The proceedings before the Settlement Commission shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Section 193 and 228, and for the purposes of Section 196 of the Indian Penal Code.
Limitations of Settlement Commission:
The following category of cases are excluded from the purview of the Settlement Commission
I. Cases relating to Customs duty where no Bill of Entry or Shipping Bill, as the case may be, has been filed.
II. Cases relating to Central Excise duty where no monthly returns showing production, clearances and Central Excise Duty paid in the prescribed manner has been filed.
III. Cases relating to Service Tax where no return has been filed.
IV. Cases where no Show Cause Notice has been issued to the applicant.
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