The applications for settlement of disputes have been filed for an amount of Rs 1,400 crore in case of direct taxes and Rs 500 crore towards indirect taxes.

The government also reiterated that the scheme would not be extended beyond the stipulated date. The official announcement further said that revenue department has drawn a plan "to initiate actions against tax defaulters with full judicial force after December 31."

It was pointed out that KVSS, which was launched on September 1, 1998, has been made as wide and flexible as is conceivably possible. The objective of the scheme was to collect revenue, which would otherwise be locked up, and to reduce the burden of litigation.

On the basis of feedback obtained from the litigants and tax consultants on the initial scheme, thegovernment announced two major amendments to widen the scope of KVSS. Firstly, the scheme has been made applicable to departmental appeals, which constituted the large percentage of pending litigants. Secondly, the scope of the scheme was extended to co-notices. This was done to ensure that all the cases relating to a particular demand would be terminated in one sweep.