Pending appeal classification under Sabka Vishwas Scheme includes defective but filed appeals, without requiring admission.

Under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, tax dues linked to an appeal filed and pending as on 30.06.2019 fall under the pending litigation category, and not the arrears category. The fact that the appeal before the tribunal was defective, unnumbered, or later not entertained did not change its pending status, because the scheme does not require formal admission of the appeal as a condition for this classification. The scheme was interpreted in line with its object of resolving legacy service tax and central excise disputes through a liberal approach.

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Issues: Whether the declaration under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 was required to be treated as one under the pending litigation category and not the arrears category.

Analysis: The scheme distinguishes between tax dues relatable to a pending appeal and an amount in arrears. Relief under the pending litigation category depends on pendency of an appeal as on 30.06.2019, while arrears arise where no appeal was filed within time or the order has attained finality. The fact that the appeal before the appellate tribunal was defective, not assigned a regular number, or later not entertained did not alter the position that an appeal had in fact been filed and remained pending as on the relevant date. The statutory language did not require admission of the appeal as a condition for invoking the pending litigation category. The scheme was also construed in light of its object of liquidating legacy disputes under service tax and central excise through a liberal approach.

Conclusion: The declaration was correctly held to fall under the pending litigation category and not the arrears category.

Ratio Decidendi: For purposes of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, an appeal that has been filed and remains pending as on 30.06.2019 qualifies the declarant for the pending litigation category, and admission of the appeal is not a statutory requirement for such classification.

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