NE BUSINESS BUREAU
CHENNAI, SEPT 11
With the aim to reduce litigation and provide relief to eligible taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes had notified the e-Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2022under Section 245MA in the Income-tax Act, 1961.
CBDT rolls out the e-Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2022.
CBDT had notified e-DRS in pursuance to Section 245MA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 with the aim to reduce litigation and provide relief to eligible taxpayers.
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— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) August 30, 2024
- Dispute Resolution Committees (DRCs) constituted in all 18 jurisdictional Principal CCIT regions across the country
- As per e-DRS, a taxpayer can opt for e-Dispute Resolution against the āspecified orderā under certain conditions
- e-DRS application must be filed within one month from the date of receipt of specified order
- If appeal is pending, e-DRS application is to be filed on or before September 30
Section 245MA of the Act also provides for the constitution of Dispute ResolutionĀ Committees.
The e-DRS enables the taxpayer, who fulfils certain specified conditions asĀ stipulated in section 245MA of the Act, to file an application electronically for disputeĀ resolution to the DRC designated for the region of Principal Chief Commissioner ofĀ Income-tax having jurisdiction over the taxpayer. To this end, DRCs have beenĀ constituted in all 18 jurisdictional Principal CCIT regions across the country. The list of such DRCs along with their e-mail addresses is available on https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/help/all-topics/statutory-forms/file-statutory-form/popular-form/form-34-BC.
As per e-DRS, a taxpayer can opt for e-Dispute Resolution against theĀ āspecified orderā as defined in clause (b) of the Explanation to section 245MA of theĀ Act, which includes an order in which the aggregate sum of variations proposed orĀ made does not exceed Rs.10 lakh and returned income for the relevant assessmentĀ year does not exceed Rs. 50 lakh. Further, such order should not be based onĀ search/surveys or information received under an agreement referred to underĀ section 90 or 90A of the Act.
According to e-DRS, a DRC may make modification to the variations in theĀ specified order and decide to grant reduction/waiver of penalty and prosecution inĀ accordance with the provision of rule 44DAC of the Income-tax Rules, 1962Ā (here in after referred to as āthe Rulesā). The DRC is mandated to pass its order withinĀ six months from the end of month in which application for dispute resolution isĀ admitted by it.
The application for e-DRS is to be filed in Form No. 34BC referred in ruleĀ 44DAB of the Rules, on the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department, within oneĀ month from the date of receipt of specified order. In cases where appeal has already been filed and is pending before the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), theĀ application for e-DRS, is to be filed on or before September30.
In cases where theĀ specified order has been passed on or before 31.08.2024 and the time for filingĀ appeal against such order before CIT (Appeals) has not lapsed, the application forĀ dispute resolution can be filed on or before 30.09.2024.
The Tax Payer can access e-DRS module by login on income tax portalĀ https://eportal.incometax.gov.in.Ā Login to your account using PAN / TAN as user IDĀ ->Go to Dashboard ->e-File ->Income Tax Forms ->File Income Tax Forms -> underĀ tab ‘Persons not dependent on any source of Income (Source of Income notĀ relevant)> Dispute Resolution Committee in Certain Cases (Form 34BC) -> Fill FormĀ No. 34BC -> Review the details -> E-Verify the Form No. 34BC using Aadhar OTP,Ā EVC or DSC.
This is another initiative by the Government towards minimizing litigation.