Applicant can approach the Settlement Commission ‘n' number of times for settling his cases

By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAR 03, 2010: LIBERALIZATION is the buzz word nowadays.  With lakhs of revenue blocked up in litigations, the Government has finally realized that the ‘ un-scientific ' amendments made in the Union Budget, 2007 concerning settlement provisions have to be done away with. 

While the provisions of settlement that existed prior to 1st June, 2007 were more than forthright in laying down that applicants who had scant regard for the essence of settlement were to be shown the door for ever , the amendments made in section 32O of the CEA, 1944/s. 127L of the Customs Act, 1962 weighed both the genuine applicants and the dis-interested/non-cooperative ones on the same scale.

Inasmuch as the sub-section (2) inserted in these sections (supra) laid down that an applicant who had filed an application on/after 1st June, 2007 and whose application had been allowed to be proceeded with by the Commission, was not entitled to apply for settlement in relation to any other matter.

Albeit the sub-section clarified that if it was an identical issue but for a different period, the embargo did not apply.

The fact of the matter was that even if an applicant had successfully settled his case, he could not approach the Commission for any other matter and this was a big turn off!

The Central government having realized that this was an unwieldy provision has sought to set things right by amending the provisions of section 32O/127L of the Indirect Tax legislations and removing all the obstacles that came in the way of a genuine applicant who wants to settle ‘another' of his cases.

The clauses of the Finance Bill, 2010 that make way for these changes are clauses 59 and 65.