Solution

Vivad se Vishwas (the Scheme) is an attempt by the Government of India (GoI) to put an end to pending direct tax disputes. The benefit under the Scheme is maximised if taxpayers avail it before 1 April 2020, though the Scheme is likely to be available till 30 June 2020. The Scheme is likely to cater to all the taxpayers having income tax disputes in India. Depending on the contours of the pending dispute, a proportion of the total tax, interest and penalty demanded, needs to be paid under the Scheme for settlement. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has come out with a fresh guidance note on MAP that also specifies cases or situations in which India will provide access to MAP. MAP is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism under the tax treaties where competent authorities of two countries enter into discussions to resolve tax-related disputes. Tax disputes relating to transfer-pricing adjustments, determination of existence of a permanent establishment, attribution of profits to permanent establishments and characterisation or re-characterisation of an expense or receipt as a taxable expense or income would be covered under MAP. CBDT will allow the country’s taxpayers to access the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) for cross-border disputes. This is even if they had settled the case under the direct tax dispute resolution scheme — Vivad se Vishwas — without deviating from the outcome of the scheme. However, non-resident taxpayers, who opted for the resolution scheme, cannot go for MAP on the same issue. This is owing to voluntary surrender of such legal rights under Section 5(3) of the Vivad se Vishwas Act.