Service Tax | 'Subka Vishwas' (LDR) Scheme: Kerala HC Declines To Invoke Writ Jurisdiction For Party's Default, Says Scheme Is Complete Code

Dismissing the plea, Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh stated that the scheme was a complete code in itself which has detailed provisions.  The Court observed thus:

“Once the petitioner failed to comply with the provisions of the scheme, which is a complete code in itself, his court would not like to extend the limitation for making the payment under the scheme in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.”

The petitioner institution 'Coach India' conducts coaching courses for competitive examinations, like Medical entrance, Engineering entrance etc. has approached the High Court against the adjudication order and penalty imposed against them due to failure to payment of service tax within the last date due to technical glitches.

After the introduction of the GST regime, the Government framed rules governing the Scheme as 'SUBKA VISHWAS' [Legacy Dispute Resolution] Scheme Rules, 2019 (SVLDRS) for the reduction of tax litigations. The allegation was that they have not remitted service tax for relevant years for conducting 'commercial training and coaching service' as per Rules 3,6 and 7 of the Scheme.

The Counsel for the petitioner submitted that he was unable to make payment online before the last date due to technical glitches. They alleged that a show cause notice was issued even when the petitioner was ready to make payment without even serving physical notice or prior intimation. It was argued that the petitioner was unable to make payment because of the technical glitches. It was also argued that he was not given a time extension despite the Supreme Court guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Counsel for the respondents submitted that the SVLDRS was a complete code in itself. It was submitted that payment of amount and all transactions were online and there was no need to serve physical notice under the Scheme. It was also submitted that there was no proof to show that there were any technical glitches. Further, it was also argued that an appeal should have been filed instead of invoking the writ jurisdiction of the Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.

The Court observed that there was no credible or cogent evidence to prove that technical glitches. It also stated that the petitioner who availed the benefits of the scheme would be aware of various provisions under it. It held:

“The “SUBKA VISHWAS” [Legacy Dispute Resolution] Scheme Rules, 2019, is self contained code. The SVLDRS-1 was to be uploaded online and SVLDRS-3 was also to be uploaded online within 60 days from the date of receipt of the SVLDRS-1. A declarant was required to make payment online within 30 days from the date of uploading of SVLDRS-3.”

As such, the Court dismissed the writ petition.

Counsel for the petitioners: Advocates P.Raghunathan Premjit Nagendran

Counsel for the respondents: Advocate Sunil J, Standing Counsel Sreelal N Warrier

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 70

Case title: Coach India v Superintendent of Central Tax And Central Excise

Case number: WP(C) NO. 20999 OF 2022

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