Voluntary tax payment and coercion enquiry under departmental clarification remain open for further consideration

A departmental clarification requires an enquiry where a taxpayer alleges that payment was obtained by force or coercion during search, inspection, or investigation, and the revenue must address that complaint before the matter can be treated as voluntary. The order notes competing claims on whether the tax deposit was made voluntarily or under coercion, and records that the revenue's reply did not adequately deal with that issue. No final adjudication was made on voluntariness or on the alleged penalty consequence, and the controversy remains open for further consideration.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner's deposit of tax amount was voluntary, and whether the revenue was obliged to enquire into the allegation of force or coercion under the departmental circular.

Analysis: The order records the competing stands of the parties on whether the amount was deposited voluntarily or under coercion during search or investigation. It notes that the departmental clarification requires an enquiry where a taxpayer complains of force or coercion used to obtain payment during search, inspection, or investigation. The Court also noted that the reply did not adequately deal with this aspect and granted further time to the revenue to address it.

Conclusion: No final adjudication was recorded on the voluntariness of the payment or on the alleged 100% penalty issue; the matter was kept pending for further response.

Final Conclusion: The order is interlocutory and does not finally decide the merits of the controversy, leaving the disputed issues open for further consideration.

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