Tax arrears recovery: Rs 21 lakh crore! Parliament panel asks revenue dept to formulate concrete action plan

A parliamentary panel on Wednesday asked the revenue department to formulate a concrete action plan to recover tax arrears, estimated at over Rs 21 lakh crore.

The report of the Standing Committee on Finance, which was tabled in Parliament, said the revenue department seems to be "caught up in the vicious cycle to tax arrears", as about Rs 18.68 lakh crore in direct tax and Rs 2.95 lakh crore in indirect tax are outstanding in the form of tax arrears.

The committee noted that the finance ministry has initiated various legislative and administrative measures, besides "special efforts" to realise and recover tax arrears.

However, it pointed out that with respect to direct taxes, 94 per cent of the tax arrears fall under the category of 'demand difficult to recover', while for indirect taxes, 88 per cent of arrear demand falls under the category of 'non collectible'.

"The Committee would, therefore, reiterate their recommendation for a concrete action plan and a clear cut roadmap to clear the backlog in a time-bound fast tract mechanism," it said.

The committee also said it is concerned about various contentious issues arising out of GST and recommended the ministry to set up an exclusive GST Tribunal for settlement of disputes pertaining to the Goods and Services Tax.