Pending revision with condonation request qualifies for settlement under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme

A revision filed beyond limitation, together with a pending application for condonation of delay, was treated as a pending proceeding for settlement under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme, 1998. The designated authority could not decide whether the revision was time-barred or whether delay should be condoned, because that question belonged to the revisional authority. On that basis, the disputed assessment liability fell within the Scheme's settlement mechanism, and the declaration was required to be accepted for the tax dispute.

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Issues: Whether a revision application filed beyond the limitation period, along with an application for condonation of delay, could be treated as a pending proceeding so as to qualify for settlement under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme, 1998.

Analysis: The Scheme was construed in light of the Supreme Court's exposition that the word "pending" in the Scheme covered appeals, revisions and other proceedings so long as they were awaiting disposal, and that the Scheme put such proceedings on par for the purpose of settlement. Once a revision petition had been filed and the application for condonation of delay was also pending, the designated authority could not itself decide whether the revision was barred by limitation or whether delay should be condoned. The question whether the revision was competent lay within the jurisdiction of the revisional authority and not the designated authority under the Scheme.

Conclusion: The revision proceedings were pending for the purposes of the Scheme, and the assessee was entitled to have the disputed assessment covered under the settlement mechanism.

Final Conclusion: The impugned refusal to extend the Scheme benefit to the assessment liability was unsustainable, and the declaration was required to be accepted for the disputed tax liability.

Ratio Decidendi: For the purposes of the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme, a revision accompanied by a pending application for condonation of delay constitutes a pending proceeding, and the designated authority cannot adjudicate limitation or condonation issues while deciding eligibility under the Scheme.

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