The author slams the Government for repeatedly trying to scuttle the settlement mechanism. He argues that a statutory provision designed to bring taxpayers who have gone astray onto the right path must be implemented in a pragmatic manner. He lauds the Bombay High Court for reading down the ill-conceived amendments to the settlement provisions by the Finance Act, 2007 and exhorts the Government to accept the judgement of the Bombay High Court in the right spirit and not exacerbate the matter by filing an appeal. The author also uses his rich experience to set out a road map to be followed by all the stake-holders for a speedy disposal of the settlement applications.