Singh defends VDIS

MUMBAI: The Union finance ministry is determined to defend the voluntary disclosure of income scheme 8211; 1997 VDIS-97 in the court of law. This was announced by the revenue secretary, NK Singh at a press conference held in Mumbai on Friday.

Singh was responding to a question on the writ petition filed in the Mumbai high court by the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners challenging the VDIS-97. He said he did not share the perception of the petitioners that the scheme encouraged dishonest tax evaders and was a fraud on the honest payers. quot;This is not the first scheme8230;there have been similar schemes in the last 20 years,quot; he said.

Reiterating the government8217;s point of view, Singh said, quot;This is the last opportunity for the tax evaders.quot; He said the basic issue involved was that a large sum of wealth rested in the unproductive stream of system which is required to be brought into the main stream.