PANAJI
Settling a long pending issue, the State government on Thursday waived off pre-GST arrears amounting to Rs 48 crores of around 16,412 traders under the one-time settlement (OTS) scheme, introduced in October, last year, to settle the dues under the old Value Added Tax (VAT) and other State and Central taxes.
Last date to clear pending dues to seek benefits under the scheme is March 7, 2024, with the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announcing that no further extension will be granted.
The State government had in August last year notified Goa (Recovery of Arrears of Tax, Interest, Penalty, Other Dues through Settlement) Act 2023, which aims at resolving the legacy tax issues in the State up to June 30, 2017, under the Central Sales Tax Act, Goa Sales Tax Act, Goa Tax on Luxuries Act, Goa Entertainment Tax Act, and Goa Tax On Entry of Goods Act. Accordingly, OTS was introduced in October, 2023.
Sawant said that a 20 per cent rebate will be offered in non-disputed cases while a 50 per cent rebate will be offered in disputed tax claims and there will be a 100 per cent rebate on interest, penalty and other dues.
In case of seizure re-assessed cases, there will be 50 per cent rebate in penalty and 100 per cent rebate in interest, he said.
Sawant said that scheme applies to individuals who, despite facing financial challenges, diligently cleared their daily IT returns, GST, and VAT obligations. He said that another 1,300 applications for waiver are already processed. "This initiative will not only benefit the 16,412 individuals directly involved but also contributes to the overall financial well-being of the State,” he said.
Traders can download their waiver certificate from the portal. https://goagst.gov.in/ .
Applicants can pay the dues in nine monthly instalments wherein the first and last instalments have to be paid on or before the due date. ''No interest will be charged in case of delay/default in payment of second to eighth instalments,'' the chief minister said.
Applications for settlement can be filed by paying ten per cent of the payable amount as a pre-deposit, he informed.
