Sabka Vishwas Scheme classification and pre-deposit credit affected the payable amount under the litigation category.

A pending statutory appeal filed within limitation before the CESTAT meant the matter fell within the Scheme's litigation category, not "arrears". The designated committee was required to compute the payable amount under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 on the basis of Section 124(1)(a)(ii), with fifty per cent of the tax dues where the amount exceeded fifty lakhs, and after giving credit for pre-deposits already made during investigation. The computation in Form SVLDRS-3 was therefore incorrect because it did not extend the benefit of such deduction, and the declaration had to be processed on the correct litigation basis with reduced payable amount.

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Issues: Whether the declarant's case under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 was wrongly treated as "arrears" instead of "litigation", and whether the amount payable under the Scheme was correctly computed after giving credit for pre-deposits under Section 124(2).

Analysis: The declaration showed that a statutory appeal had been filed before the CESTAT within limitation and was pending on the relevant date, so the matter did not fall within the category of "arrears" under the Scheme. On the facts, the amount demanded in Form SVLDRS-3 was not arrived at correctly, and the designated committee failed to extend the benefit of deduction of the amount already deposited during the course of investigation. The correct relief had to be worked out under Section 124(1)(a)(ii), namely fifty per cent of the tax dues where the amount exceeded fifty lakhs, after deducting the pre-deposit already made.

Conclusion: The classification of the case as "arrears" was unsustainable, and the computation in Form SVLDRS-3 was ; the declaration had to be processed on the basis of litigation category with credit for pre-deposit, resulting in a reduced payable amount in favour of the assessee.

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