TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (3) TMI 293
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....on is disposed of. W.P.(C) 2408/2021 & CM APPL. 7008/2021 3. The Petitioner, aggrieved with the rejection of its declaration under the amnesty scheme - Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 [hereinafter referred to as 'SVLDRS'] for settlement of the service tax dues, by way of the instant petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeks direction to the respondents to issue discharge certificate under SVLDRS. Besides, relief is also sought for quashing the Demand-cum-Show Cause Notice No. 61/2019-20 dated 20th March, 2020 issued by Respondent No. 2 in respect of the period in dispute [hereinafter referred to as 'SCN']. 4. Briefly stated, the petitioner, being proprietor of M/S. Syona Spa, is in the bu....
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....ent petition has been filed. 7. Mr. Sharma, counsel for the petitioner, submits that the decision of the authority is arbitrary and unreasonable as the petitioner's eligibility under SVLDRS has been wrongly assessed by ignoring the terms of the scheme. The Petitioner has applied for tax relief in accordance with the scheme, and in consonance with the prescribed SVLDRS Rules, 2019, which were issued vide Notification No. OS/2019 Central Excise-NT dated 21.08.2019. He also argues that Petitioner's eligibility to file the declaration under SVLDRS is clarified beyond doubt vide Paragraph 10(g) of the CBIC Circular No. 107114/2019- CX.8 dated 27.08.2019 wherein it has been stipulated that for eligibility under SVLDRS, the term "quantified" in....
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....he interpretation sought to be given by the petitioner is accepted, then the entire scheme would be unworkable. In this regard, she refers to section 125(1)(e) of the Finance Act. 9. We have given due consideration to the rival contentions of the parties. 10. Petitioner filed a declaration on the premise that its case is covered under Section 125(1) (e) of the Finance Act, which reads as under: "125(1) All persons shall be eligible to make a declaration under this Scheme except the following, namely: (a) to (d) ............................ (e) who have been subjected to an enquiry or investigation or audit and the amount of duty involved in the said enquiry or investigation or audit has not been quantified o....
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....of June, 2019 is- (i) rupees fifty lakhs or less, then, seventy per cent. of the tax dues; (ii) more than rupees fifty lakhs, then, fifty percent, of the tax dues." [Emphasis Supplied] 16. As per Section 123, in case of an enquiry or investigation or audit which is pending against the declarant, the amount of duty payable under any of the indirect tax enactments has to be quantified before 30th June, 2019. Section 125(1)(e) referred above, renders all such persons ineligible to make a declaration under the Scheme who have been subjected to an enquiry or investigation or audit and the amount involved has not been quantified on or before 30th June 2019. Thus, Section 125(1)(e) in a way compliments Section 123(c) ....
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....tion or appeal (at any forum), the relief is to the extent of 70% of the duty involved if it is Rs. 50 lakhs or less and 50% if it is more than Rs. 50 lakhs. The Same relief is available for cases under investigation and audit where the duty involved is quantified and communicated to the party or admitted by him in a statement on or before 30.06.2019." 10. Further, the following issues are clarified in the context of the various provisions of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019 and Rules made thereunder: xxx xxx xxx g) Cases under an enquiry, investigation or audit where the duty demand has been quantified on or before the 30th day of W.P. (C) 3934/2020 Page 4 of 9 June, 2019 are eligible under the Scheme. Section 2(r) ....
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....ax, can be considered to be as an admission of duty liability so as to render the petitioner eligible under the SVLDRS. 14. Petitioner's case falls within the ambit of 'enquiry or investigation', as the Petitioner was issued summons dated 10.05.2019 by the Anti-Evasion Group 4, Central Excise & Service Tax. In respect of such cases, by virtue of the aforesaid circulars, the Respondents have clarified that the benefit of SVLDRS can also be given to those cases where the duty involved is quantified before 30.06.2019. 15. Since quantification has co-relation and is interlinked with tax relief under the scheme, and the Petitioner has not made a voluntary disclosure, but has rather approached for settlement in respect of case under investi....