The Parliamentary standing committee on finance led by senior BJP leader Jayant Sinha said in its report that it has noted the legislative and administrative steps as well as special efforts taken the department to recover tax arrears. 

"However, one cannot lose sight of the fact that with respect to direct taxes, 94% of the tax arrear fall under the category of 'demand difficult to recover,' whereas in the case of indirect taxes, 88% of arrear demand fall under the category of 'non-collectible.' The committee would, therefore, reiterate their recommendation for a concrete action plan and a clearcut roadmap to clear the backlog in a time-bound fast track mechanism," said the report available from the Lok Sabha. 

The report said that it was alarming to note that the department seems to have been caught up in the vicious cycle of arrears, as more than ₹21 lakh crore ( ₹18.66 trillion in direct taxes and ₹2.95 trillion in indirect tax) was outstanding in the form of tax arrears. 

The report also quoted the finance ministry's efforts taken to realise the tax arrears including the Vivad Se Vishwas scheme meant to clear the backlog of tax disputes. The standing committee also recommended that the department should rely upon the initiative to mediate and settle disputes in as many cases as feasible in order to reduce pending disputes.