Tax arrears waiver scheme protects granted relief from later suo motu revision when no revision was pending earlier.

A tax arrears waiver scheme can bar later revisional action where the dealer has already validly obtained its benefit and no suo motu revision was pending when the scheme took effect. Clause 5.7 of the Karasamadhana Scheme, 2021 disqualified only those cases in which revision proceedings had already been initiated as on the Government Order date; since no such proceedings were pending here, the subsequent revisional notice could not be used to undo the waiver of interest and penalty. The revisional authority therefore lacked jurisdiction to invoke Section 64(1) of the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 after acceptance of the scheme application, and the scheme relief remained undisturbed.

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Issues: Whether the revisional authority could invoke suo motu revision under the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 after the assessee had already been granted benefit under the Karasamadhana Scheme, 2021.

Analysis: The assessment proceedings had culminated in an appellate order, and the assessee thereafter availed the Karasamadhana Scheme, 2021 within time. Clause 5.7 of the Scheme disentitles a dealer only where suo motu revision proceedings were already initiated as on the date of the Government Order. In the present case, no such revision was pending when the Scheme came into force, and the revisional notice was issued only after the Scheme benefit had been accepted and the interest and penalty stood waived. Permitting revision in such a situation would defeat the object of the Scheme and render the benefit granted under it meaningless.

Conclusion: The revisional authority could not validly exercise jurisdiction under Section 64(1) of the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 after acceptance of the assessee's application under the Karasamadhana Scheme, 2021. The issue is answered in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The revisional order was unsustainable and the appeal succeeded, leaving the assessee's relief under the scheme undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a tax arrears waiver scheme confers final benefit on a dealer and suo motu revision is not already pending within the scheme's disabling clause, a subsequent revision cannot be used to nullify the benefit already granted under the scheme.

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