Landmark Associates Vs Union of India And Ors (Bombay High Court)
Bombay High Court has set aside an order rejecting a declaration made by Landmark Associates under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 (SVLDRS). The court, in its judgment, directed the tax authorities to reconsider the declaration as valid, emphasizing that a pre-scheme written admission of duty liability, or a department-issued recovery notice based on such liability, constitutes sufficient “quantification” for eligibility under the scheme.
Landmark Associates, a partnership firm engaged in construction services and registered under the Finance Act, 1994, faced an investigation by the Service Tax Department for alleged non-payment of service tax between April 1, 2012, and June 30, 2017. During the investigation, a partner of the firm, Shri Pranay Pravin Patel, had his statement recorded, admitting to certain service tax dues. Correspondence ensued where the firm intermittently revised and acknowledged outstanding service tax liabilities. Notably, on September 14, 2018, the firm informed the Assistant Commissioner about an outstanding service tax liability of Rs. 1,17,37,503/- as of June 2017. Following this, on December 3, 2018, the Commissioner, CGST, Mumbai (West), issued a notice under Section 87(b) of the Finance Act, 1994, to ICICI Bank, attaching the firm’s account and stating that Landmark Associates had failed to discharge a service tax liability of Rs. 1,07,37,503/- for the period 2012-13 to June 2017.
