A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court has quashed the rejection letter issued to petitioner in Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019. The application of SVLDRS-1 was rejected after the SVLDRS-2 was issued to the petitioner in this case.
The SVLDR Scheme is a legislation introduced for liquidation of legacy disputes on one hand and recovery of unpaid taxes to the government on the other.
Prakash Shah, for the petitioner, submitted that the scheme is a beneficial one for unloading the baggage of legacy disputes of pre GST regime and the administrative machinery should have approached Petitioner’s declaration with a view to make the scheme successful. Therefore the rejection is ex-facie untenable and unsustainable in law and ought to be set aside.
Ram Ochani, on behalf of the respondent-revenue submitted that, “mere issuance of SVLDRS-2 does not confirm the eligibility of Petitioner for relief under the scheme and SVLDRS-3 can be issued only to an eligible declarant. That therefore, the Designated Committee has rightly rejected the application of the Petitioner and therefore this Petition also be dismissed.”
“Once SVLDRS-2 has been issued and there has also been a follow up from the Respondents with respect to the said Form as well as the hearing that was fixed at the appointed date and time, the Respondent-Authorities cannot renege on the same”, the Division Bench of Justices Nithin Jamdar and Abhay Ahuja noted.
“Particularly so in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, where admittedly, the rejection of SVLDRS-1 was not communicated to Petitioner on 20 March 2020, but only communicated to them on 17 February 2022, after a request came from Petitioner to issue Form SVLDRS-4”, the facts were also quoted by High Court Judges of the Bombay High Court.
“The communication as well as the Show Cause Notice dated cannot be sustained”, the court further observed and are quashed and set aside the same.
Further, the Respondents were directed to constitute a Designated Committee to consider the SVLDRS-1 declaration filed by Petitioner as well as SVLDRS-2 issued by the Designated Committee and after giving a reasonable opportunity of hearing to Petitioner issue Form SVLDRS-3 and Form SVLDRS-4, within eight weeks.
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