Himtaj Ayurved Pvt. Ltd. Vs Union of India & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
The Petitioner is manufacturer of “Himtaj Ayurvedic Oil”. The demand of central excise duty was raised. It filed declaration under the SVLDR Scheme. Form-3 was issued calling upon the Petitioner to make payment. Lockdown was imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic. The time for payment was extended up to 30.06.2020 under the said Scheme. The Petitioner made the payment; however; it was returned by the bank as challan had expired. It generated a fresh challan on 15.07.2020 and made the payment. However, SVLDRS Form-4 (discharge certificate) was not issued on the ground that the payment was not made in time and entity name was “Imtaj” in the challan. Hence, the petition came to be filed.
The Hon’ble Bombay High Court allowed the petition and directed the Department to issue Form SVLDRS-4. It held: (i) the object of the scheme has to be considered; (ii) the eligibility of the Petitioner is not disputed and hence, the payment could not be made for technical reasons; (iii) procedural irregularities cannot come in way of substantive justice; (iv) payment under SVLDRS challan or service tax challan would not make a difference as long as money was received by the Respondents; (v) follows judgment in the case of Innovative Antares Pvt. Ltd. and Shri Arjun Amarjeet Rampal; (vi) distinguishes Supreme Court judgment in the case Yashi Construction.
