Topline Buildtech Private ... vs Union Of India & Ors.
2021 Latest Caselaw 2818 Del

                         $~42
                         *    IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
                         +     W.P.(C) 11648/2021
                               TOPLINE BUILDTECH PRIVATE LIMITED                            ..... Petitioner
                                                   Through      Mr.Siddharth Tewari, Advocate.
                                                   versus
                               UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                                 ..... Respondents
                                             Through            Ms.Shiva Lakshmi, CGSC with
                                                                Mr.Siddharth Singh, Advocate for
                                                                UOI.
                                                                Ms.Anushree Narain, standing counsel
                                                                for R-3 to 5.

                         %                                      Date of Decision: 11th October, 2021
                               CORAM:
                               HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANMOHAN
                               HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA

                         MANMOHAN, J. (Oral)

1. The petition has been heard by way of video conferencing.

2. Present writ petition has been filed challenging the orders of reject ion, passed against the Second Declaration filed vide ARN No. LD2612190004279, issued by the Respondent No.4 by way of em ail dat ed 24th February, 2020. Petitioner also seeks directions to the Respondent No. '4' to give an opportunity of hearing to the Petitioner to present its case in relation to the Second Declaration, and thereafter pass a reasoned order aft er adjudication of the same in accordance with the principles of n at ural ju stice and to supply copies of complete correspondence and note-sheets in t he file pertaining to investigations and inquiry and the declarations filed by the

W.P.(C) No.11648 /2021

Digitally Signed By:JASWANT SINGH RAWAT Signing Date:13.10.2021 15:53:43 Petitioner under the Sabka Vishwas Scheme along with other relevant documents.

3. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner states that in 2018, the Respondent No. 5 issued several summons and letters to the Petitioner to initiate an enquiry/ investigation into Petitioner's service tax liabilit y for provision of work contract services in particular, contract dat ed 07 th Au gust, 2012 wit h M/s. Wave Mega City Center Private Limited for construction of sh op-cum- offices in Sectors 25A and 32, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. He states that in response to the said Summons and other letters, the Petitioner su bmitted t he relevant documents including the details of challans of pre-deposited tax liability. He contends that Respondent No. 5 accepted that the Petitioner h ad declared its service tax liability in its correspondence, and asked the Petitioner to fully deposit its admitted liability. He states that the Petitioner, relying on the instructions of Respondent No. 5, even deposited a total of Rs. 10.5 Lakhs (Rupees Ten Lakhs Fifty Thousand) out of the admitted service tax liability of Rs. 18,00,000/-(Rupees Eighteen Lakhs), which was later found to be Rs. 20.71 Lakh (Rupees Twenty Lakh Seventy-One Thousand) after t he balance CENVAT Credit was also included.

4. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner states that in order to take advantage of the said Sabka Vishwas Scheme and settle t he on going t ax dispute, t he Petitioner, on 06th December, 2019, filed a declaration to avail the ben efit of the already deposited tax liability and to discharge the pen ding t ax liability once and for all. However he states that the said declaration was su mmarily rejected by Respondent No. 4 stating "Amount of dues was not quantified u p to 30.06.2019".

5. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner states that the Petitioner made

W.P.(C) No.11648 /2021

Digitally Signed By:JASWANT SINGH RAWAT Signing Date:13.10.2021 15:53:43 another attempt by filing a fresh declaration dated 26 th Decem ber, 2019 for the same issue and dispute, which too was rejected for the same reason. He states that subsequently, the Petitioner submitted a letter dated 30th December, 2019 requesting Respondent No. 4 to reconsider the request to settle Petitioner's ongoing tax dispute as per the provisions of t h e Sabka Vishwas Scheme. However, the Petitioner did not receive any response for m on ths on any of its letters for reconsideration. He states that the Pet itioner also fil ed several applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005, for su pply of information and documents related to anti-evasion branch file of the Petitioner, but to no avail.

6. A perusal of the paper book reveals that t he Pet itioner h ad writ ten a unilateral letter dated 11th June, 2018 stating that its service tax liability u pto 30th June, 2017 was Rs.18 lakhs and interest liability of Rs.14 lakh s. Along with the above letter, a challan of Rs.3 lakhs dated 11th Ju n e, 2018 t owards part payment of the said liability was enclosed.

7. The Respondent vide its letter dated 08th August, 2019 had pointed ou t that, even according to the Petitioner's own calculation, service t ax liability was due and outstanding. The Petitioner was asked t o deposit t he balance service tax liability as calculated by the Petitioner vide the said letter.

8. In fact, from the summons dated 20th May, 2019, it is apparent that t he case was under investigation under Sections 70 and 174 of the CGST Act an d the Petitioner has been asked to furnish a large number of documents including copies of challans showing its service tax liability deposited aft er the date of service. In our opinion, the said communication dated 08th August, 2019 does not indicate that the quantum of duty had either been quantified or communicated by the Respondent to the Petitioner on or before 30 th Ju n e,

W.P.(C) No.11648 /2021

Digitally Signed By:JASWANT SINGH RAWAT Signing Date:13.10.2021 15:53:43 2019. Consequently, the present writ petition being bereft of merit is dismissed.

9. The order be uploaded on the website forthwith. Copy of t h e order be also forwarded to the learned counsel through e-mail.

MANMOHAN, J

NAVIN CHAWLA, J OCTOBER 11, 2021 KA

W.P.(C) No.11648 /2021

Digitally Signed By:JASWANT SINGH RAWAT Signing Date:13.10.2021 15:53:43