Gautam Banerjee Vs Union of India And 3 Ors (Gauhati High Court)
The Gauhati High Court considered a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging an order dated 16.02.2022 passed by the Assistant Commissioner, GST & Central Excise, Guwahati-I Division and a subsequent appellate order dated 06.12.2022 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), CGST. The appellate authority had rejected the petitioner’s appeal against the order confirming service tax demand and penalties.
The petitioner was the proprietor of a service-providing entity for the financial year 2014-2015. A demand-cum-show cause notice dated 07.11.2019 was issued under Sections 66B, 68, 69 and 70 of the Finance Act, 1994 read with relevant provisions of the Service Tax Rules, 1994. The notice alleged that services valued at ₹23,47,386 had been assessed for the relevant period and demanded service tax of ₹2,90,137 including cess.
On 27.12.2019 the petitioner submitted a reply accepting the demand and expressing willingness to pay the amount but simultaneously sought the benefit of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 (SVLDRS). An application under the scheme in Form SVLDRS-1 was filed and acknowledged on 31.12.2019. After considering the matter, the Designated Committee issued Form SVLDRS-3 determining the payable amount as ₹1,16,054.80. The petitioner paid the determined amount on 20.01.2020. Following payment, a discharge certificate in Form SVLDRS-4 was issued on 04.02.2020.
