SVLDRS eligibility turns on pre-cut-off quantification; pending audit alone cannot defeat a claim after written admission of liability.

A pre-cut-off written admission or quantification of service tax liability can satisfy the SVLDRS quantification requirement even if audit or investigation remains pending. The Scheme and clarificatory circulars treat a written communication admitting duty liability, including one made during enquiry, investigation or audit, as sufficient quantification for eligibility. Pendency of audit or investigation by itself does not defeat the claimant where the liability had already been quantified before 30 June 2019. The earlier dismissal as infructuous did not create res judicata because no issue had been finally determined. The rejection of the SVLDRS claim was therefore unsustainable and the matter was remitted for fresh consideration.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 on the basis that the service tax liability had been admitted and quantified before the cut-off date, notwithstanding the pendency of audit or investigation, and whether the rejection of the SVLDRS application and consequential order could be sustained.

Analysis: The admitted liability had been quantified by the petitioner before 30 June 2019. The Scheme and the clarificatory circulars treat a written communication of duty liability, including an admission made during enquiry, investigation or audit, as quantification for the purpose of eligibility. Pendency of enquiry, investigation or audit by itself does not exclude the assessee where quantification had already occurred before the cut-off date. The earlier dismissal as infructuous did not bar the present challenge on res judicata, since no issue had been finally determined in the earlier round.

Conclusion: The petitioner was eligible for the Scheme and the rejection of the claim could not be sustained.

Final Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh consideration of the SVLDRS claim in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: For purposes of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, a pre-cut-off written admission or quantification of tax liability satisfies the requirement of quantification even if audit or investigation remains pending, and such pendency alone cannot defeat eligibility.

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