Bill giving relief to pandemic-hit industries, traders passed in Maharashtra Assembly

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A bill that aims to provide relief to traders and industries hit by the Covid-19 pandemic was passed in the Maharashtra Assembly on Monday.

The 'Maharashtra Settlement of Arrears of Tax, Interest, Penalty or Late Fee Bill, 2022' an amnesty scheme will cover taxes which the state's sales tax department imposed before the goods and services tax (GST) was introduced in 2017.

The scheme will be in effect from April 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022.

Speaking in the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the government will completely waive arrears in cases where the dues are Rs 10,000 a year as per any statutory order passed under various tax laws.

Small traders in around one lakh such cases stand to benefit from the waiver, he said.

Traders with arrears of Rs 10 lakh or less as of April 1, 2022, as per statutory orders, will have the option of paying 20 per cent of the total dues. The remaining 80 per cent will be waived if the 20 per cent of the arrears is paid, as per the scheme.

Traders in around 2.20 lakh such cases will get relief from the move.

"The amnesty scheme will be implemented online in a completely transparent manner. It will play a key role in encouraging industries and traders who were hit by the Covid-19 crisis," Pawar said.

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