Synopsis
Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, or SVLDR, was introduced to clear the backlog of erstwhile indirect tax disputes for companies to get over with service tax and other ongoing disputes. The scheme, introduced in 2019, was aimed at freeing “a large number of small taxpayers of their pending disputes with the tax administration”.
Many companies that approached the indirect tax department to settle tax disputes under Sabka Vishwas Scheme are now under the taxman’s lens for evading tax. In several notices issued to such companies, the tax department claims its investigations revealed the companies had not paid taxes under the pre-GST tax regime.