Pending appeal on the cut-off date governs Sabka Vishwas eligibility; numbering is not a statutory condition.

Eligibility under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 turns on whether an appeal was pending on the cut-off date, not on whether it had been numbered. Section 124(1)(a) links relief to tax dues arising from a show cause notice or pending appeal as on 30 June 2019, while Section 125(1)(a) excludes only appeals that had been finally heard on or before that date. On that basis, an appeal filed before the cut-off date remained within the litigation category, and its later reclassification as an arrears case was inconsistent with the statutory scheme.

---

---

Issues: Whether an appeal filed before the cut-off date but not yet numbered or finally heard on that date qualified the declarant for the litigation category under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, and whether the subsequent reclassification of the declarant as an arrears case was sustainable.

Analysis: Section 124(1)(a) of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2019 links relief under the Scheme to tax dues relatable to a show cause notice or appeal pending as on 30 June 2019. Section 125(1)(a) excludes only those who had filed an appeal and whose appeal had been heard finally on or before that date. The decisive factor was the existence of a pending appeal on the cut-off date. The fact that the appeal had not been numbered was held to be immaterial, since neither Section 124 nor Section 125 made numbering a condition for eligibility. The initial determination treating the declarant under the litigation category was therefore consistent with the Scheme, and the later reclassification as arrears was inconsistent with the statutory scheme.

Conclusion: The declarant was entitled to be treated under the litigation category and not as an arrears case. The reclassification was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The declaration under the Scheme had to be worked out on the basis of the earlier litigation-category determination, with the petitioner receiving the corresponding relief under the settlement scheme.

Ratio Decidendi: For eligibility under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, the relevant requirement is that an appeal was pending on the cut-off date; numbering of the appeal is not a statutory condition where the Act itself does not prescribe it.

---