Punjab govt extends OTS scheme till June 30

Chandigarh, March 11

Buoyed by the success of its one-time settlement (OTS) scheme for settling VAT dues, the state government has decided to extend the scheme till June 30. The government is hopeful of bringing another 30,000 traders in the ambit of the scheme.

Brought in to clear VAT arrears of pre-GST era, the scheme has already helped the government collect Rs 47.50 crore from 41,814 traders. The approval for extending the scheme was given by the Cabinet on Saturday.

Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner, Taxation, Vikas Pratap told The Tribune that this was a landmark OTS policy, where taxpayers seemed keen to clear their dues. “For this reason only the government has decided to extend the scheme till June 30,” he said.

Under the scheme, if any trader produces any statutory form, his tax dues will be adjusted after checking his eligibility to avail of the benefits of the scheme. The tax assessment carried out in 2016-17 have also been included in the scheme. Those taxpayers whose assessments were revised have also been included in it.