Meghalaya govt okays amnesty scheme for taxpayers to pay outstanding dues

The Meghalaya Cabinet has

approved an amnesty scheme for taxpayers to pay their outstanding dues to the state government.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said the amnesty scheme will be only for a period of six months.

"People who have taxes due towards the state government will be given an amnesty scheme for a period of six months to pay the amount, failing which different legal measures and prosecution as per law will be taken against defaulters," he said on Thursday after the cabinet meeting.

Commissioner of Taxes, Arunkumar Kembhavi said that the scheme will benefit a total of 805 taxpayers in Meghalaya.

He said many of them owes the department hundreds of crores.

"The scheme will help both the department as well as the taxpayers to make a fresh start for 2021 and we hope that they will avail its benefits," Kembhavi said.

"The idea of the scheme is simple. If a taxpayer has Rs 1 crore outstanding dues including the principal amount of tax, surcharge, penalty, interest or even the late fees, we are giving the net discount or waiver of 30 per cent so that he can make payment for only 70 per cent or Rs 70 lakh of the tax due to the department," he said.

The Commissioner of Taxes said once the ordinance is notified, the taxpayers can submit applications before him and avail the benefits of the scheme.

"Once the window of six months is over, we will go aggressively against all the outstanding taxpayers and we will prosecute them with rigorous means," he said.

Meanwhile, the chief minister said that the state government has decided to impose fine on people who violate the COVID-19 safety protocols which include social distancing, wearing of mask, not spitting in public places.

"For first time violators, a fine of Rs 500 will be imposed and this will be increased to Rs 1,000 for repeated offence. We need to ensure people take the protocols seriously. These are simple rules which will help you to protect your family," he said.

On the number of BSF personnel in the state getting infected, Sangma said whatever is happening is within the BSF camp and it is in a controlled manner.

He said the restrictions on inter-state movement does not include citizens of the state who are stranded outside and government employees including paramilitary forces who are coming back.