SVLDR Scheme – Tax liability - The petitioner sought a writ of mandamus to restore and reconsider SVLDRS declaration filed by the petitioner on merits and to issue necessary discharge certificate and for other reliefs. The Petitioner on 1st November 2019 filed the SVLDRS-1 declaration declaring tax dues of 72.37 lakhs and accordingly informed the office of the DGGI. On 12th February 2020, the Designated Committee passed the impugned order rejecting the SVLDRS-1 declaration on the ground that they obtained some verification report dated 17th December 2019 from the DGGI. The tax dues were not quantified finally on or before 30th June 2019. On 30th December 2020, the DGGI issued a SCN to the petitioner proposing to recover the specified amount of service. The court observed that there was no dispute about the admitted tax dues made by the petitioner not only in the statement recorded by the Investigating Officer but also subsequently in the correspondence as also in Form SVLDRS-1 and also as quantified in Form SVLDRS-2. If according to the respondents, tax dues would have been higher than the amount admitted in the statement as claimed in the affidavit-in-reply, the petitioner would have been confronted with the higher amount of tax dues in Form SVLDRS-2 and SVLDRS-2A. The object of the scheme is to encourage persons to go for settlement who had bonafidely declared outstanding tax dues prior to the cut off date of 30th June, 2019. This Court relied on the decision in case of Nabeel Construction Pvt. Ltd.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court quashed the impugned order dated 12th February 2020 rejecting SVLDRS-1 declaration and held the petitioner eligible to file the said SVLDRS-1 declaration and to avail benefits under the said Scheme.