Haryana One Time Settlement Scheme 2026: Your Complete Guide to Closing Pre-GST VAT and CST Disputes

The Haryana Government has formally approved the Haryana One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme, 2026, creating a structured and time-bound mechanism for resolving long-standing disputes that emerged under the pre-GST tax regime. For countless businesses and assessees across Haryana, unresolved demands under the VAT, CST, and allied legacy statutes have been a persistent source of financial strain, compliance anxiety, and operational uncertainty. This scheme offers a concrete and commercially attractive exit route from those burdens.

With the scheme window set to open on 1 June 2026 and remain available for only 120 days, there is a genuine urgency for affected assessees to act swiftly and decisively.

Overview: What Is the Haryana OTS Scheme 2026?

The Haryana One Time Settlement Scheme, 2026 is a government-backed resolution framework specifically designed to address outstanding dues and pending litigations that arose under various pre-GST tax legislations enforced within the state. The scheme acknowledges a ground reality that the transition to GST in 2017 left an enormous backlog of unresolved assessments, unresolved appeals, attachment orders, and compounding interest liabilities that have proven difficult to resolve through conventional litigation channels.

The scheme simultaneously serves the interests of both the revenue administration and the business community — enabling the government to recover blocked funds efficiently while allowing assessees to draw a permanent line under legacy disputes that have dragged on for years, often at disproportionate financial and administrative cost.

Key Point: This is not simply another procedural amnesty notice. For many assessees, the Haryana OTS Scheme 2026 represents one of the most commercially viable opportunities in years to achieve full and final closure of pre-GST tax exposure.

Scope and Coverage: Which Laws Are Included?

The Haryana OTS Scheme, 2026 extends to outstanding dues that have arisen under the following enactments:

• Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003
• Central Sales Tax Act, 1956
• Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973
• Haryana Local Area Development Tax Act, 2000
• Haryana Entertainment Duty Act, 1955
• Haryana Tax on Luxuries Act, 2007
• Haryana Passengers and Goods Tax Act, 1952

The breadth of this coverage is significant. It means that assessees operating across diverse sectors — retail, trading, logistics, hospitality, entertainment, and services — who accumulated disputes under any of these statutes are potentially eligible to seek resolution under the scheme.

Operative Timeline: Effective Date and Validity Window

The scheme operates within a strictly defined window. There is no indication at this stage of any extension, and assessees should therefore treat the deadline with full seriousness. Beginning the internal review process now — before formal applications open — will provide the necessary time to collate documents, identify eligible disputes, and evaluate settlement economics.

Key Relief Provisions Under the Scheme

The scheme's most compelling feature is the substantial financial relief it offers. The benefit structure is designed to make settlement genuinely attractive, even for assessees who have previously resisted resolution due to the quantum of outstanding amounts.

1. Full Waiver of Interest and Penalty

In a large number of qualifying cases, the scheme provides:

• 100% waiver of accumulated interest
• 100% waiver of penalty