Income Tax Settlement Commission

 


This institution was set up in 1976 by the Central Government on the recommendations of the Direct Taxes Enquiry Committee (1971) set up under the Chairmanship of Justice K.N. Wanchoo, the retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. The Wanchoo Committee had conceived of
  the Settlement Commission as a mechanism to allow a one-time tax evader or an unintending
  defaulter to make clean breast of his affairs. At present, there are four benches of the Commission
   located at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.   

  The settlement mechanism allows taxpayers to disclose additional Income before it over and
  above what has been already disclosed before the Income tax Department. The applicant has to pay
  full amount of tax and interest on the additional income disclosed before the Commission, before
  filing the application. The Commission then decides upon the admissibility of the application and in
  opportunity to both parties.