M/S Rosmerta Technologies Limited vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors

Held

The Court allowed the writ petition and set aside the order dated 10.01.2020. The Court held that the petitioner was eligible to file a declaration under the Sabka Vishvas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019. The reasoning was based on the interpretation of Clause (g) of the Circular dated 27.08.2019 and Section 2(6) of the scheme. The Court found that the letter dated 13.05.2019 constituted a written communication quantifying the duty demand (specifically, the remaining interest liability) before the cut-off date of June 30, 2019. Therefore, the petitioner's case should not have been rejected on the grounds of pending investigation or unquantified duty. The matter was remanded back to respondent No. 4 to pass a fresh order under the scheme, taking into consideration the letter dated 13.05.2019 and treating the petitioner as eligible.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Rosmerta Technologies Ltd, challenged an order dated 10.01.2020 by respondent No. 4, which declared them ineligible to file a declaration under the Sabka Vishvas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, under Section 125(1)(e) of the Finance (No. 2), 2019. The petitioner sought to have this order quashed and their declaration dated 13.12.2019 accepted. The petitioner had financial difficulties in 2017 and failed to pay service tax for the period April 2017 to June 2017, leading to inquiries and demands for payment. The petitioner made several deposits totaling Rs. 75.74 lacs towards service tax, interest, and penalty, as acknowledged by respondent No. 3. A letter dated 13.05.2019 informed the petitioner of a remaining interest liability of Rs. 18,79,734/-. The petitioner argued that this letter, issued before 30.06.2019, quantified the duty demand, making them eligible for the scheme.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner was eligible to file a declaration under the Sabka Vishvas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, considering the communication of duty demand before June 30, 2019? (Question of law). The petitioner argued that they were eligible because the letter dated 13.05.2019 quantified their remaining interest liability. They relied on Clause (g) of Circular dated 27.08.2019 (P-16), which states that cases under enquiry or investigation where the duty demand has been quantified on or before June 30, 2019, are eligible. They further pointed to Section 2(6) of the scheme, defining 'quantified' as a written communication of the amount of duty payable, including letters intimating duty demand or liability admitted by the person. The respondent department's arguments are not explicitly recorded in the judgment.