The Bombay High Court has ruled that the tax department wrongly rejected a hospitality firm’s application under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, on the ground of “quantification,” observing that upholding the rejection would force the company into a prolonged chain of appeals stretching over a decade and denying the department the benefit of immediate recovery.
A division bench comprising Justice M. S. Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain held that the rejection suffered from serious procedural lapses.
The bench noted that the company had quantified and admitted liability in writing on June 11, 2019, which was before the statutory cut-off date. The rejection order was passed without giving the petitioner an opportunity of hearing, violating Section 127 of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2019. If authorities had communicated their calculation of ₹1.06 crore as tax liability, the petitioner could have accepted it and availed the scheme.
The petitioner company, engaged in outdoor catering services, had admitted to defaults in payment of service tax due to financial difficulties. Investigations by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) revealed a liability of over ₹69 lakh for the period 2014–2018, of which part had already been deposited.
In June 2019—before the cut-off date under the SVLDR Scheme—the company quantified its tax dues and expressed willingness to settle. However, when it formally applied under the scheme in December 2019, the authorities rejected the declaration, citing that liability had not been “quantified” before the June 30, 2019 cut-off.
The case involved Venture Professional Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., a Thane-based catering services provider, which had challenged the February 2020 rejection of its application under the SVLDR Scheme. The scheme, introduced by the Union Government in 2019, sought to settle pending service tax and excise disputes by allowing assessees to pay a portion of admitted liabilities in return for immunity from penalties and prosecution.
The court while setting aside the rejection, directed that tax dues be recalculated at ₹1.06 crore, subject to deduction of the petitioner’s pre-deposit of ₹29.72 lakh. The balance amount would carry 9% annual interest from April 1, 2020 until final payment. Department must communicate the revised payable amount within four weeks, and the petitioner must pay it within six weeks of such communication. A final discharge certificate under the scheme will be issued within four weeks of payment confirmation.
Case Details
Case Title: Venture Professional Hospitality Versus UOI
Case No.: WRIT PETITION NO.3383 OF 2022
Date: 4 September 2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Mr. Shreyas Shrivastava a/w Mr. Saurabh R. Mashelkar
Counsel For Respondent: J. B. Mishra a/w Mr. Abhishek Mishra, Mr. Ashutosh Mishra & Mr. J. B. Mishra a/w Mr. Abhishek Mishra, Mr. Ashutosh Mishra & Mr. Rupesh Dubey
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