Voluntary disclosure under Sabka Vishwas: later investigation cannot bar relief if no inquiry was pending on 30 June 2019.

Declarations under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 in the voluntary disclosure category could not be rejected merely because the department initiated an investigation after 30 June 2019. The court applied a date-based test under Section 125(1)(f)(i) and held that ineligibility turns on whether an investigation or enquiry was pending on 30 June 2019. Since no investigation was pending on that date, the rejection of the declarations was unsustainable and relief was granted to the petitioner.

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Issues: Whether declarations filed under the voluntary disclosure category of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 could be rejected on the ground that investigation was initiated after 30 June 2019.

Analysis: The relevant consideration for ineligibility under the voluntary disclosure category was whether investigation or enquiry was pending as on 30 June 2019. The declarations were rejected only because the department initiated investigation after that date. A liberal interpretation of Section 125(1)(f)(i) of the Finance Act, 2019 required the same date-based test to apply to the voluntary disclosure category as well. Since the investigation was not pending on 30 June 2019, the rejection could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The rejection of the declarations was unsustainable and the relief was in favour of the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: For voluntary disclosure under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, ineligibility based on pending investigation is to be tested with reference to 30 June 2019, and an investigation initiated thereafter does not bar the declaration.

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