Order date – 11 August 2022

Facts – 

• The Petitioner, RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED, was duly registered under GST in the state of Maharashtra and under the erstwhile Service Tax regime. 
• Petitioner has approached the Court in view of the refusal on the part of respondents to issue discharge certificate in respect of tax dues covered by the declaration in Form 1 under Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 (SVLDRS). 
• Petitioner contended that they have paid the amount indicated in accordance with the SVLDRS within the permitted time but still the discharge certificate is not being issued.
• In view of severe cash crunch petitioner paid a sum of Rs.2,89,15,115/- from the electronic cash ledger. Respondents acknowledged that petitioner has made the payment but not according to Section 127 (5) of the Finance Act, 2019 which says that the payment shall be made electronically through internet banking within a period of thirty days from the date of issue of statement by the designated committee.
• Aggrieved, the petitioner filed a petition.

Issue – 

• Whether petitioner could utilize the amount available in the electronic cash ledger to discharge its liability under the SVLDRS?

Order – 

• The Court observed that circular dated 24th June 2019 has been issued prior to the Finance Act, 2019 came into force. There is no similar circular issued after the Finance Act, 2019 came into force. There is nothing to indicate what the definition of ‘pay electronically or through internet banking’. Admittedly, the amount has been paid by electronic cash ledger maintained by petitioner under the CGST Act. Therefore, the fact that the Government of India has received the amount of Rs.2,89,15,115/- cannot be disputed.
• SVLDRS is a statutory scheme that provides some reliefs to the assessee in varying degrees. The court accepted the contention of the appellant that the scheme in question, being for the benefit of assessees needs to be construed liberally to effectuate the purpose. 
• There is no dispute that the SVLDRS Scheme was introduced to provide relief to tax payers in the form of both dispute resolution as well as amnesty, Therefore the Respondents should adopt a reasonable and pragmatic approach so that a declarant can avail the benefits of the scheme and a declarant like petitioner cannot be put in a worse off condition than he was before making declaration under the Scheme.
• Here, petitioner has scrupulously abided by all the terms and conditions of the scheme. In the absence of any definition as to what amounts to “pay electronically through internet banking”, even payment made by electronic cash ledger maintained by petitioner under the CGST Act also amounts to payment through internet banking. 
• Therefore Respondent was directed to issue discharge certificate in Form SVLDRS – 4 through electronic form and if it cannot then it be issued in physical form.
• Petition disposed off.