Undisputed tax arrears at Rs 18,000 cr

Total arrears at Rs 103,000 cr

Finance Minister P Chidambaram expects to realise Rs 18,000 crore from undisputed arrears in both direct and indirect taxes. The total tax arrears as on April 1, 2004, are estimated at almost Rs 1,03,000 crore.

According to finance ministry sources, the direct tax arrears have a lion's share of Rs 87,800 crore of the total tax arrears. The arrears in indirect taxes as on April 1, 2004 are about Rs 15,200 crore.

The sources said Chidambaram had been very optimistic in his expectation about recovering such huge undisputed arrears. Terming it as a "source of revenue", the minister had proposed a special, multi-pronged drive to recover these arrears.

Of the total Rs 87,800 crore direct tax arrears, disputed arrears account for Rs 55,000 crore. Undisputed arrears, which Chidambaram proposes to tap, account for almost 25 per cent of the total direct arrears.

These include untraceable assessees, BIFR cases, companies under liquidation, cases pending with the Settlement Commission and those under stay by courts, tax tribunals, etc.

The sources said the arrears stuck under stay at various courts and tribunals were to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore.

Untraceable assessees had arrears of almost Rs 7,000 crore, companies under liquidation accounted for Rs 4,600 crore of the undisputed arrears and cases pending with Settlement Commission for another Rs 2,700 crore.

Chidambaram was primarily targeting the arrears stuck under stay granted by assessing officers and tribunals, those pending with the Settlement Commission and the companies under the BIFR.