Disputed tax cases involving a total of Rs 97,000 crore have been offered for settlement under the Vivad se Vishwas Scheme, with 24.5 per cent of the long-pending dispute cases getting settled so far, sources said on Friday.

Around 1,25,144 cases have opted for the Vivad se Vishwas (VsV) Scheme, which is 24.5 per cent of the 5,10,491 cases that were pending at different legal fora, according to sources in the Department of Revenue (DoR).

“The response to VsV Scheme has been very encouraging and so far involves the tax dispute settlement amount to the tune of more than Rs 97,000 crore,” one of the sources said.

VsV has received 15 times better response in comparison to Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 (DTDRS) and with regard to the settled disputed amount it is 153 times of DTDRS. The Kar Vivad Samadhan (KVS) Scheme of 1998 could gather Rs 739 crore with just few thousand cases, while DTDR resolved just 8,600-odd cases involving an amount of Rs 631 crore.

The sources said the setting up of the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) announced in the 2021-22 Budget is in furtherance of the VsV Scheme. Under DRC, further impetus is to be provided to resolve litigations in the best interest of small taxpayers in a Tax Lok Adaalat format, which would bring transparency and accountability in a faceless manner.

The last date for filing declaration under the VsV scheme has been extended till February 28, while for paying the disputed tax the date is March 31.

The Vivad Se Vishwas scheme provides for settlement of disputed tax, disputed interest, disputed penalty or disputed fees in relation to an assessment or reassessment order on payment of 100 per cent of the disputed tax and 25 per cent of the disputed penalty or interest or fee.

The taxpayer is granted immunity from the levy of interest, penalty and institution of any proceeding for prosecution for any offence under the Income-tax Act in respect of matters covered in the declaration.

The Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020 was enacted on March 17, 2020, to settle direct tax disputes locked up in the various appellate forum.