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Kerala High Court
Geo Foundations And Structures Pvt. Ltd vs The Joint Commissioner Of Central Tax & ... on 19 January, 2026
2026:KER:4267
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A.
MONDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF JANUARY 2026 / 29TH POUSHA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 502 OF 2026
PETITIONER/S:
GEO FOUNDATIONS AND STRUCTURES PVT. LTD.,
6TH FLOOR, ALPHA PLAZA, K.P.VALLON ROAD,
KADAVANTHRA, KOCHI, REPRESENTED BY ITS AUTHORISED
SIGNATORY, N. KRISHNAMANI, S/O. E. M. NEELAKANTA
SHASTRY, AGED 65 YEARS, RESIDING AT 7/1577, (EPRA-
9), ELAYACHAN PARAMBU, PALACE ROAD, MATTANCHERRY,
COCHIN-682002, PIN - 682020
BY ADVS.
SHRI.S.ANIL KUMAR (TRIVANDRUM)
SHRI.SAJU.K.PERUTTY
SHRI.SABU C.J
SHRI.RAHUL A.
RESPONDENT/S:
1 THE JOINT COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL TAX & CENTRAL
EXCISE,C.R. BUILDINGS, I.S. PRESS ROAD,
KOCHI, PIN - 682018
2 THE PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL TAX &
CENTRAL EXCISE,
C.R. BUILDINGS, I.S. PRESS ROAD,
KOCHI, PIN - 682018
3 THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER (TECH.),
CENTRAL TAX AND CENTRAL EXCISE, KOCHI
COMMISSIONERATE, C.R. BUILDINGS,
I.S. PRESS ROAD, KOCHI, PIN - 682018
W.P.(C) No.502 of 2026
2
2026:KER:4267
BY ADV SHRI.V.GIRISHKUMAR, SC, CENTRAL BOARD OF
INDIRECT TAXES AND CUSTOMS
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR
ADMISSION ON 19.01.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY
DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
W.P.(C) No.502 of 2026
3
2026:KER:4267
JUDGMENT
The petitioner is a works contractor and has approached
this Court seeking the following reliefs:
"i) issue a writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ or orders
directing the 2nd and/or the 3rd Respondent(s) to issue
discharge certificate in Form SVLDRS-4 taking into account
the payment of the amount covered by Ext.P4 as per Ext.P6;
ii) issue a writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ or orders
directing the 1st Respondent or anybody acting on his behalf
to refrain from recovering the any portion of the amount
demanded as per Ext.P1 order, overlooking payment made
by the petitioner as per Ext.P6; and
iii) issue such other writ, order, or direction, which this Hon'ble
court deems fit and necessary in the interest of justice."
2. The grievance highlighted by the petitioner is with
respect to the failure on the part of the 3rd respondent to issue a
discharge certificate in Form SVLDRS-4, as per the Sabka
Viswas (Legacy Disputes Resolution) Scheme, 2019.
3. The issue relates to the assessment of the petitioner
under the Finance Act, 1994, pertaining to the assessment year
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2006-2007. Ext.P1 is the order-in-original passed by the
authority concerned, and the amount payable as per Ext.P1 was
settled by the petitioner under the 2019 Scheme referred to
above. Ext.P6 is the chelan dated 30.06.2020, which was the
last date on which, the said amount ought to have been paid.
The grievance of the petitioner is that, despite the fact that the
entire amount payable as per the scheme is already remitted as
evidenced by Ext.P6, the discharge certificate in the prescribed
form, namely, SVLDRS-4, was not issued by the 3 rd respondent
herein, the competent authority in this regard. The writ petition
was submitted before this Court in such circumstances, seeking
the aforesaid reliefs.
4. Today when the matter came up for consideration,
the learned Standing Counsel for the respondents upon
instructions admitted that, even though the petitioner had paid
the amount payable as per the scheme, the discharge certificate
in the prescribed form has not been issued. Now, since the
portal created for the purpose of the scheme 2019 is no longer
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in existence, they are unable to issue an online discharge
certificate. Thus they expressed their inability to issue the
discharge certificate.
5. After considering all the relevant aspects, I am of the
view that, since it is an admitted fact that, the petitioner
remitted the entire amount payable as per the Scheme 2019,
within the time stipulated therein, the respondents are bound to
issue a discharge certificate evidencing the same and
exonerating the petitioner from the liability, that was imposed
upon it, as per Ext.P1 order-in-original. The fact that the portal
meant for the same is no longer in existence, cannot be an
excuse not to grant the said certificate. If the portal is not
functional, it is the obligation of the respondents to issue a
manual discharge certificate.
Thus in the light of the above, this writ petition is disposed
of, directing the competent officer among the respondents to
issue a discharge certificate in the prescribed format manually
to the petitioner, under the scheme named Sabka Viswas
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(Legacy Disputes Resolution) Scheme, 2019, evidencing the
settlement of the amount as per Ext.P1. Such certificate shall
be issued within a period of two months from the date of receipt
of a copy of this judgment.
Sd/-
ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A.
JUDGE
rpk
2026:KER:4267
APPENDIX OF WP(C) NO. 502 OF 2026
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
Exhibit P1 A COPY OF THE ORDER-IN-ORIGINAL DATED
30-03-2010 ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT
Exhibit P2 A COPY OF THE NOTICE DATED 25-06-2025
ISSUED BY THE HON'BLE APPELLATE
TRIBUNAL
Exhibit P3 A COPY OF THE APPLICATION DATED 13-01-
2020 FILED ONLINE
Exhibit P4 A COPY OF THE RESPONSE IN SVL DRS-3
DATED 19-02-2020
Exhibit P5 A COPY OF THE CHALAN DATED 19-02-2020
Exhibit P6 A COPY OF THE E-RECEIPT DATED 30-06-
Exhibit P7 A COPY OF THE LETTER DATED 31-07-2025
ADDRESSED TO THE 2ND RESPONDENT
Exhibit P8 A COPY OF THE LETER DATED 28-08-2025
RECEIVED FROM THE 3RD RESPONDENT
Exhibit P9 A COPY OF THE MEMO DATED 18-08-2025
FILED BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE
HON'BLE TRIBUNAL
Exhibit P9(a) A COPY OF THE E-MAIL DATED 19-12-2025
RECEIVED FROM THE HON'BLE CUSTOMS,
EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX APPELLATE
TRIBUNAL, BENGALURU
