Sabka Vishwas eligibility turns on whether enquiry or investigation was pending by 30 June 2019; discharge certificate remained conclusive.

Under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, eligibility for the voluntary disclosure category depends on the statutory exclusions in section 125, and a pending enquiry or investigation disqualifies only where it existed as on 30 June 2019. On the record, no material showed that any enquiry or investigation had commenced against the petitioner before that date, so the exclusion did not apply. The discharge certificate issued under section 129 was treated as conclusive, and there was no factual basis to regard the declaration as false. The petitioner was therefore eligible under the Scheme, and the show cause notice could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was ineligible for the voluntary disclosure category under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 on the ground that an enquiry or investigation was pending before 30 June 2019, and whether the discharge certificate issued under the Scheme could be treated as ineffective on the basis of alleged falsity in the declaration.

Analysis: The Scheme under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 2019 confers eligibility subject to the exclusions in section 125, and the voluntary disclosure category excludes a person subjected to enquiry, investigation or audit. The relevant judicial position applied was that, for this category, the disqualifying enquiry or investigation must be pending as on 30 June 2019. On the record, no material showed that any enquiry or investigation against the petitioner had commenced before that date; rather, the process began later. The discharge certificate under section 129 is conclusive, and there was no factual basis to hold that the declaration was false so as to deny the petitioner the benefit of the Scheme.

Conclusion: The petitioner was eligible to apply under the Scheme and the impugned show cause notice could not be sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: For the voluntary disclosure category under the Sabka Vishwas Scheme, disqualification on account of enquiry or investigation applies only if such proceedings were pending as on 30 June 2019, and a discharge certificate remains conclusive unless its basis is shown to be false in accordance with the Scheme.

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