Finance ministry circulates draft scheme for quick settlement of contractual disputes
1 min read . Updated: 08 Feb 2023, 08:07 PM IST
Premium- The scheme is aimed at bringing quick finality to certain contractual disputes in which the government or its agencies is a litigant
NEW DELHI : The Ministry of Finance on Wednesday circulated a draft scheme for consultation with stakeholders. The scheme is aimed at bringing quick finality to certain contractual disputes in which the government or its agencies is a litigant.
The draft scheme is available on the website of the Department of Expenditure as well as on the MyGov.in portal.
The draft scheme has been framed in accordance with the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2023-24.
In her Budget speech, Union finance minister announced that, “To settle contractual disputes of government and government undertakings, wherein arbitral award is under challenge in a court, a voluntary settlement scheme with standardized terms will be introduced. This will be done by offering graded settlement terms depending on pendency level of the dispute."
The government has appreciated that special efforts are required to clear the backlog of old disputes and litigation.
“Such cases are not only holding back fresh investment but are also reducing the ease of doing business with the Government. Therefore, after due study of the past cases, the government intends to bring one time settlement scheme called “Vivad se Vishwas II (Contractual Disputes)" to effectively settle pending disputes," the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
The release added the scheme will be implemented through Government e-Marketplace (GeM), which shall provide an online functionality for the same. The draft scheme document also provides a broad functionality that the GeM portal shall provide to implement the scheme.
It also contains a draft settlement agreement between the litigating parties to bring finality to the contractual dispute settlement.
