Tribunal allows appeals under VCES, emphasizing statutory provisions and timeline for tax dues.

The Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellant, setting aside the impugned orders and allowing the appeals. The judgment emphasized the importance of considering the statutory provisions of the VCES scheme and the timeline for tax dues payment to determine the validity of declarations under the scheme. The Tribunal found that the appellant's VCES declaration should be accepted as taxes were paid before the scheme's effective date, following a similar High Court decision. The CBEC clarification on the issue was set aside, supporting the acceptance of the VCES declaration.

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Issues:
Whether appellant's declaration under Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) needs to be rejected or not.

Analysis:
The appeal was filed against Order-in-Appeal No: NSK-EXCUS-000-APP-357-13-14 dated 13/03/2014 by the Commissioner of Central Excise & Customs (Appeals), Nashik. The main issue was whether the appellant's VCES declaration should be rejected. The appellant indicated in the declaration that they paid the dues on 02/05/2013 before the VCES scheme became effective on 10th May 2013. Both lower authorities rejected the declaration, citing Board's clarification No. 174/9/2013-ST dated 25/11/2013.

The Tribunal referred to a similar case before the High Court of Gujarat, where the court held that the declaration under VCES should be accepted if the tax dues were not paid by 1-3-2013. The court emphasized that the scheme allowed declarations for taxes due and payable for the period between 1-10-2007 to 31-12-2012, not paid as of 1-3-2013. The court clarified that taxes deposited before 10-5-2013, the scheme's framing date, should still be considered for declaration.

The Tribunal, following the High Court's judgment, found the impugned orders unsustainable and set them aside. The Tribunal allowed the appeals, emphasizing that the conditions for a valid declaration under VCES were met in this case. The CBEC clarification on the issue was also considered and set aside by the High Court, supporting the acceptance of the VCES declaration.

In conclusion, the Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellant, setting aside the impugned orders and allowing the appeals. The judgment highlighted the importance of considering the statutory provisions of the VCES scheme and the timeline for tax dues payment to determine the validity of declarations under the scheme.

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