Appeal maintainability under voluntary compliance scheme upheld where rejection letter was treated as a final decision.

The Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013 was not a self-contained code, so the parent Act applied to proceedings under the Scheme except where expressly excluded. A communication rejecting a declaration and directing payment of tax dues with interest and penalty was treated as a final decision in substance, even though it was issued as a letter rather than a formal order. The form of the communication could not defeat the statutory remedy of appeal. The contention that only a writ petition was available was rejected, and the appeal was held maintainable against the rejection of the declaration.

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Issues: Whether an appeal was maintainable against the rejection of a declaration under the Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013, and whether the rejection communication, though not in the form of a formal order, could be treated as a final decision amenable to appeal.

Analysis: The Scheme was introduced under the Finance Act, 2013 and was not a self-contained code. Accordingly, the provisions of the parent Act applied to proceedings under the Scheme except to the extent expressly excluded. The communication issued by the designated authority conveyed the rejection of the declaration and directed payment of tax dues with interest and penalty, thereby attaining finality in substance. The form in which the designated authority chose to communicate its decision could not take away the statutory remedy of appeal merely because the decision was issued as a letter rather than a formal order. The argument that the only remedy was a writ petition was rejected.

Conclusion: The appeal was maintainable, and the rejection of the declaration under the Scheme could be appealed against.

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