TMI Blog2023 (5) TMI 282X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1999 (9) TMI 62 - ANDHRA PRADESH HIGH COURT ] while considering the provisions of the VDIS held that retention of any amount paid under the Scheme would be impermissible under Article 265 of the Constitution of India, if the amounts paid under the Scheme in terms of the declaration was held to be non-est as per the Scheme. As it appears that as on the last date specified, i.e., 30th October 2021, the petitioner had admittedly not paid the entire amount in terms of revised Form-3, dated 27th September 2021. However, the entire case of the petitioner is that if an amount of Rs. 3,48,752/- which was deposited and was lying with the respondents in terms of the IDS, were to be adjusted against the revised Form-3 under the Scheme of the DTVSV Act, then the petitioner s claim under the said Scheme could not be rejected. The amount deposited by the petitioner under the IDS could not have been forfeited and have neither been refunded nor adjusted. This is not a case where one would say that the petitioner had failed to make the payment within the time prescribed under the DTVSV Act which would result in denying the benefit of the said Scheme to the petitioner but in our opinion, thi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ngs against the petitioner also resulted in levying a penalty of Rs. 6,97,500/- upon the petitioner. Both these orders came to be challenged before the Appellate Forum. 4. On 17th March 2020, Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020 was enacted by the Parliament with a view to provide for resolution of disputed tax and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto as is clear from the preamble of the said Act. The purpose and spirit of such an enactment can be noticed from the Bill that was introduced in the parliament, the statements and objects and reasons whereof read as under : 24. Let us now read the statement of objects and reasons of the Vivad se Vishwas Bill when introduced in the Parliament which later on became the Vivad se Vishwas Act. The statement of objects and reasons reads as under:- Over the years, the pendency of appeals filed by taxpayers as well as Government has increased due to the fact that the number of appeals that are filed is much higher than the number of appeals that are disposed. As a result, a huge amount of disputed tax arrears is locked-up in these appeals. As on the 30th November, 2019, the amount of disputed direct tax arrears ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of the disputed penalty, disputed interest or disputed fee, as the case may be. 4. The proposed Bill shall come into force on the date it receives the assent of the President and declaration may be made thereafter up to the date to be notified by the Government. It is thus clear that the spirit of the enactment was to unlock the amounts held up in disputes on account of pendency of various appeals filed by not only the tax payers but also the Government. The amount of disputed tax arrears as reflected in the Bill was an enormous amount of Rs. 9.32 lakh crores, which reflected approximately one year s direct tax collection. 5. The petitioner, considering himself eligible, applied under the said DTVSV Act and submitted Forms 1 and 2 on 22nd March 2020 declaring a disputed income of Rs. 15,50,500/-. Form No. 3 was issued by the designated authority under the Act which required the petitioner to pay a sum of Rs. 6,97,500/- on or before 31st March 2021 and if the said amount was not paid by that date, an amount of Rs. 7,67,250/- after 31st March 2021. 6. The petitioner states that while the liability of the petitioner was correctly worked out at Rs. 6,97,500/-, yet c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rovisions of this Scheme, any person may make, on or after the date of commencement of this Scheme but before a date to be notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette, a declaration in respect of any income chargeable to tax under the Income-tax Act for any assessment year prior to the assessment year beginning on the 1st day of April, 2017 (a) for which he has failed to furnish a return under section 139 of the Income-tax Act; (b) which he has failed to disclose in a return of income furnished by him under the Income-tax Act before the date of commencement of this Scheme; (c) which has escaped assessment by reason of the omission or failure on the part of such person to furnish a return under the Income-tax Act or to disclose fully and truly all material facts necessary for the assessment or otherwise. (2) . (3) . (4) . Time for payment of tax. 187. (1) The tax and surcharge payable under section 184 and penalty payable under section 185 in respect of the undisclosed income, shall be paid on or before a date to be notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette. [Provided that where the amo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arant may file a declaration without paying the tax under that section and the declarant may file the declaration and the declarant may pay the tax within three months from the date of fling of the declaration with simple interest at the rate of two per cent for every month or part of a month comprised in the period beginning from the date of fling the declaration and ending on the date of payment of such tax and file, the proof of such payment within the said period of three months. (2) If the declarant fails to pay the tax in respect of the voluntarily disclosed income before the expiry of three months from the date of fling of the declaration, the declaration filed by him shall be deemed never to have been made under this Scheme. ...... 70. Any amount of tax paid in pursuance of a declaration made under sub-section (1) of section 64 shall not be refundable under any circumstances. 12. The Apex Court in the aforementioned case held that the time limits prescribed under the VDIS were mandatory and thus could not be extended on any equitable consideration, it nevertheless directed the refund or adjustment of the amount so deposited under the Scheme. It was h ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... self, but at the same time, making a provision for payment of tax at a later stage not beyond three months from the date of fling the declaration with interest. Further, sub-section (2) of Section 67 stresses upon the mandatory requirement of payment of tax within the outer limit of time and in the event of any such non-payment of tax, the declaration shall be deemed never to have been made under the Scheme, i.e., it will be non-est. Section 70 of the Scheme contemplates that no amount of tax paid in pursuance of a declaration shall be refundable under any circumstances. Necessarily, it would only mean that the expression declaration used in Section 70 should be a declaration as contemplated by Section 66 read with Section 67(1) of the Scheme. When the very Scheme contemplates that a declaration without payment of tax is void and non-est and the declaration filed by the assessee was not acted upon, the question of retention of the tax paid under such declaration will not arise. The Revenue cannot retain any amounts paid under a declaration falling within the mischief of Section 67(2). There is no provision under the Scheme whereby the Revenue can retain the tax so paid in r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hich granted extension up-till 30th September 2021 and 1st October 2021 in regard to the time periods earlier fixed as 31st March 2020 and 1st April 2020. 17. As per the averments made in the petition, the petitioner had objected to the issuance of Form-3 as it did not take into consideration an amount Rs. 5,07,480/- which was paid by virtue of various challans, details whereof are provided in the petition. The matter appears to have been verified by the specified authority and a revised Form-3 was issued on 27th September 2021, which this time required the petitioner to deposit an amount of Rs. 1,90,000/- before 30th September 2021 and Rs. 2,59,750/- after 30th September 2021. The amount so specified in Form-3 also took into consideration an amount of Rs. 2,09,400/- deposited by the petitioner on 30th October 2021. The petitioner states that another Rs. 51,000/- was deposited in the month of November 2021. 18. Be that as it may, it appears that as on the last date specified, i.e., 30th October 2021, the petitioner had admittedly not paid the entire amount in terms of revised Form-3, dated 27th September 2021. However, the entire case of the petitioner is that if an amount of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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