The Goa (Recovery of Arrears of Tax through Settlement) Act, 2009

(1) This Act may be called the Goa (Recovery of Arrears of Tax through Settlement) Act, 2009. (2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Goa. (3) It shall come into force at once.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— (a) “applicant” means an applicant referred to in section 5 and includes “dealer” or “hotelier or proprietor”, his legal heir, successor, assignee, or nominee; (b) “arrears of tax, penalty and interest” means,— (i) tax, by whatever name called, payable by a dealer or a hotelier upon assessment or otherwise under the relevant Act in respect of the specified period; or (ii) penalty imposed upon dealer or a hotelier, for the default in furnishing returns and/or payment of tax, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant Act, in respect of the specified period; or (iii) interest payable by a dealer or a hotelier under the relevant Act for default in payment of tax or delay in payment of tax, beyond the specified time, in respect of the specified period; (c) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner as referred to in the relevant Act; (d) “dealer” means the dealer defined in section 2 of Goa Sales Tax Act, 1964 (Act 4 of 1964) or the Goa Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (Goa Act 9 of 2005); (e) “designated authority” means the authority specified in section 3; (ee) “Form” means a Form appended to this Act; (f) “Government” means the Government of Goa; (g) “hotelier” means the hotelier defined in section 2 of the Goa Tax on Luxuries Act, 1988 (Act 17 of 1988); (h) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (hh) “proprietor” means the proprietor defined in section 2(q) of the Goa Entertainment Tax Act, 1964 (Act 2 of 1964) or section 2(ii) of the Goa Tax on Luxuries Act, 1988 (Goa Act 17 of 1988), as the case may be; (i) “relevant Act” means,— (i) the Goa Sales Tax Act, 1964 (Act 4 of 1964); or (ii) the Goa Tax on Luxuries Act, 1988 (Act 17 of 1988); or (iii) the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (Central Act 74 of 1956); or (iv) the Goa Tax on Entry of Goods Act, 2000 (Act 14 of 2000), the rules and the Notifications issued thereunder; (j) “specified period” means any period of assessment upto the financial year ending on 31st day of March, 2015. (2) Unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or context, all words and expressions used in this Act, which are not defined herein, but defined or used in the relevant Act, shall have the same meaning as respectively assigned to them in the relevant Act.

For carrying out the purposes of this Act, the authorities referred to in section 13 (2) (a) and 13 (2) (b) of the Goa Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (Act 9 of 2005), or such other authority as the Commissioner may, under the relevant Act, by order made in that behalf nominate, shall be the designated authority and such authority shall have jurisdiction over such area or areas, as exercised by it under the relevant Act.

Subject to the other provisions of this Act, an applicant shall be eligible to make an application for settlement of his arrears of assessed tax, interest or penalty for the specified period in respect of which dispute is raised before an authority including the appellate authority or Court on or before the 31st day of March, 2016: Provided that no application for settlement shall be entertained if the appellate or revisional authority or Court has remanded the case back to the assessing authority for fresh assessment and such assessment has not been completed as on 31st day of March, 2015: Provided further that the cases already decided or settled before the commencement of the Goa (Recovery of Arrears of Tax through Settlement) (Amendment) Act, 2016, shall not be taken up.

(1) An application for the purpose of section 4 shall be made by an applicant to the designated authority in Form I hereto before expiry of three months, from the date of coming into force of the Goa (Recovery of Arrears of Tax through Settlement) (Amendment) Act, 2016 or by such extended date as the Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify. (1A) The application under sub-section (1) shall be made through electronic system, by using a system code availed from the appropriate assessing authority. The applicant shall enter the details in accordance with the instructions that are applicable for making such application through electronic system. (1B) Upon making application through the electronic system, the system shall generate an acknowledgement, the printed copy of which shall be signed and verified by the applicant and submitted to the designated authority by such date as may be mentioned in the acknowledgement, failing which, the application shall be summarily rejected. (2) The designated authority shall verify the correctness of the particulars furnished in the application, with reference to the records available with the assessing authority or any other authority with whom such records may be available, as the case may be. (3) An applicant shall make application separately for each year under each of the Acts specified in clause (i) of section 2.

(1) Where the designated authority is satisfied about the correctness of the particulars set forth in the application made by the applicant, he shall, by order in writing, determine the amount payable by the applicant for the purpose of settlement of arrears of tax, interest and penalty at the rates specified in section 7: Provided that the amount determined and payable by the applicant under this sub-section shall be rounded off to the nearest ten rupees. (2) After the amount payable by the applicant is determined under sub-section (1) by the designated authority, the designated authority shall inform the same to the applicant in Form specified in Part B of the Schedule hereto. The applicant shall pay the amount within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the intimation, by challan, duly certified and issued by the designated authority, and submit a receipted copy thereof to the designated authority. Provided that an applicant being a dealer, whose appeal is pending before the tribunal as on the 31st day of March, 2016 and who has paid fifty percent of the disputed amount of tax, interest and penalty in accordance with sub-section (2) of section 36 of the Goa Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (Goa Act 9 of 2005), shall pay the balance amount, if any, by using e-challan and submit to the designated authority a self-attested photocopy of such challan in proof of payment of the amount as determined and intimated by the designated authority in Form II: Provided further that, where the designated authority is satisfied that the applicant being a dealer, whose appeal is pending before the tribunal as on the 31st day of March, 2016, has paid fifty per cent of the disputed amount of tax, interest and penalty in accordance with sub-section (2) of section 36 of the Goa Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (Goa Act 9 of 2005) and that there is no further amount payable for the purpose of settlement at the rates specified in section 7, he shall issue a certificate of settlement in Form III hereto to the applicant and thereupon, such applicant shall be discharged from his liability to make payment of the balance amount of arrears of tax, interest and penalty to which he was liable before settlement.

Where the arrears of tax, interest and penalty have arisen on account of any order of assessment relating to the specified period which is disputed either in review or in appeal or in revision or in any other suit or in Writ Petition filed before any Court of Law, on or before the 31st day of March, 2016, such arrears shall be settled at the rate of 50% of the disputed amount.

(1) The designated authority, on being satisfied that the applicant has paid the amount determined under section 6, shall issue a certificate of settlement in Form III hereto, to the applicant and thereupon, such applicant shall be discharged from his liability to make payment of the balance amount of arrears of tax, interest and penalty to which he was liable before settlement. (2) The designated authority may, by Order, for reasons to be recorded in writing, reject the application of the applicant on the ground that no question of settlement arises or rectify or amend the certificate of settlement issued under sub-section (1): Provided that no order adversely affecting the applicant shall be passed without giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard: Provided further that an appeal against the order of the designated authority shall lie to the Commissioner and such appeal shall be made within a period of sixty days from the date of such order.

A certificate of settlement issued under sub-section (1) of section 8 shall be conclusive as to the settlement to which the dispute relates, and no matter covered by such certificate of settlement shall be re-opened in any proceeding or review or revision, or in any other proceeding, under the relevant Act.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any provision in the relevant Act, the review, appeal or revision for any period pending before the reviewing, appellate or the revisional authority, as the case may be, in respect of which a certificate of settlement is issued under sub-section (1) of section 8, shall be deemed to have been withdrawn by the applicant from the date of making of the application under sub-section (1) of section 5.

No assessing authority, reviewing authority, appellate authority or revisional authority shall proceed to decide any assessment, review, appeal or revision under the relevant Act relating to any period in respect of which an application has been made under section 5 of this Act: Provided that such authority shall proceed to decide such assessment, review, appeal or revision for such period in accordance with the provisions of the relevant Act, if a certificate of settlement referred to in sub-section (1) of section 8 is refused to the applicant by an order passed by the designated authority in writing under sub-section (2) of section 8.

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 9 and 10, where it appears to the designated authority that an applicant has obtained the benefit of settlement under this Act by suppressing any material information or particulars or by furnishing any incorrect or false information or particulars, such designated authority may, within one year from the date of issue of such certificate, for reasons to be recorded in writing and after giving the applicant a reasonable opportunity of being heard, revoke the certificate of settlement issued under sub-section (1) of section 8. (2) If a certificate of settlement is revoked under sub-section (1), the assessment, review, appeal or revision, as the case may be, under the relevant Act, covered by such certificate of settlement, shall, notwithstanding the provisions of sections 9 and 10, stand revived or reinstated immediately upon such revocation, and such assessment, review, appeal or revision shall be decided in accordance with the provisions of the relevant Act, as if no settlement of the arrears of tax, penalty or interest in dispute in such review, appeal or revision has ever been made under this Act.

The designated authority shall keep the assessing authority, the reviewing authority, the appellate authority or the revisional authority, who, for the time being, has jurisdiction over the applicant under the relevant Act, informed, inter alia of— (a) making of an application by an applicant under section 5; (b) passing of any certificate or Order by the designated authority under section 8; or (c) revocation of any certificate of settlement under section 12, in such form and manner, and within such time, as the Commissioner may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.

Any amount paid by an applicant under section 6 shall not be refundable under any circumstances: Provided that in case of revocation of a certificate of settlement in accordance with section 12, the amount paid by the applicant under section 6 shall be treated to have been paid under the relevant Act for the period for which the certificate of settlement has been revoked.

The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules, either prospectively or with retrospective effect, for carrying out the purposes of this Act, and such rules may provide for all or any of the matter which, under any provision of this Act is required to be prescribed or to be provided by rules.

If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, as the occasion may require, do anything which appears to it to be necessary to remove the difficulty: Provided that no such order shall be made after expiry of two years from the date of coming into force of this Act.

(11) Net amount of arrears applied for settlement Tax Rs. Interest Rs. Penalty Rs. Total Rs.

VERIFICATION I/We .................................................. solemnly declare that to the best of my/our knowledge and belief,— (a) the particulars and information given in this application are correct and complete; (b) the amount of arrears of tax, interest and penalty shown hereinabove are truly stated and relate to the relevant period as mentioned in this application; and (c) I/ the applicant am/is not otherwise ineligible for making this application in terms of the provisions of said Act.

(Signature) (Name of the signatory in full) (Status in relation to the applicant) Place: Date:

[See section 6(2)] No.____________ To, ______________________ Partner/Proprietor/Manager/Director of ____________________ Address:_______________ _______________________ Registration No. _________________________ under the relevant Act. Arrears in respect of period of assessment 01-04- to 31-03-

Sir/Madam, With reference to your application No. _______ in Part A dated _________, for the settlement of arrears of tax, interest and penalty relating to the period ________________ received in my office on __________, you are hereby informed that the amount payable for settlement of arrears of tax and/or interest has been determined by me under sub-section (1) of section 6 of the Goa (Recovery of Arrears of Tax through Settlement) Act, 2009, as follows: (i) Arrears of tax in dispute (ii)Amount covered by furnishing Turnover Tax of declaration forms: C or D Forms E-I/E-II Forms F Form H Form Certificate in Form ST XIA Certificate in Form ST XI B Total........ (iii) Net arrears of tax [(i) - (ii)] Rs. .............. (iv) Arrears of interest Rs. .............. (v) Arrears of penalty Rs. ................ (vi) Amount of tax and interest determined payable for settlement: Tax Rs. Interest Rs. Total .............. (Rupees ______________________________ only)

Certified challan is enclosed. You are required to pay the amount by challan by _______________ and furnish receipted copy of the challan to this office. Date: Signature (Seal Designation (Appropriate designated authority)

[See section 8(1)] On the basis of the application made by ______________ (name of the applicant), who is carrying on/used to carry on the business in the trade, name of ____________________________ at __________________ (address) and who is/was holding R. C. (Local/Central/Luxury/Entry) No. ___________________ and TIN No. ____________________________________ under the _________________________ (name of the relevant Act), it is certified that:— *(1) Arrears of tax, interest or penalty arisen on account of the order of assessment for the period from _________ to ________ against which, no appeal is preferred upto _______ has been settled under sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Settlement of Appeals and Arrears under Goa Sales Tax, Central Sales Tax, Goa Tax on Luxuries and Goa Tax on Entry of Goods Act, 2009. *(2) Arrears of tax, interest and penalty arisen for the assessment period ________________ which was pending in review/appeal/revision before __________________ (name of the appropriate review/appellate/revisional authority), being review/appeal/revision case No. ________________, has been settled under sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Goa (Recovery of Arrears of Tax through Settlement) Act, 2009. The applicant on the above application has paid a net amount of Rs............................... as final settlement, which has been accepted. ISSUED this ________ day of __________. Signature Designation (Appropriate designated authority) (Seal) *Strike out whichever is not applicable. N.B.: Endorse one copy of the settlement certificate Part A, Part B, and Part C to the Commissioner