Panel pulls up FinMin for locking `9.85tr on tax cases

About `6.71tr of taxes have appeals pending at Commissioner level

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on finance has pulled up the finance ministry for locking a whopping `9.85 lakh crore (`9.85 trillion) in appeals only for direct taxes.

Out of this, over `6.71 lakh crore is locked in appeals pending at Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) level “making the situation unimaginable”, said the panel.

There are around 2.83 lakh appeals pending before the CIT(A) through out the country. Another `1.40 lakh crore is locked in appeals at Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal level involving 88,000 cases.

About `1.66 lakh crore is locked in appeals in high courts involving 41,000 petitions and `7,500 crore in locked in dispute in Supreme Court.

The committee recommended a massive and prompt steps be taken to stop this trend. It asked the government to enact law for time-bound, early disposal of cases.

In its reply, the ministry had said that it has issued a number of circulars in contentious issues to bring clarity in the tax regime and eliminate or reduce tax disputes.

As far as indirect taxes are concerned, CBEC has decided that the threshold limit below which appeals are not to be filed by the department in Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) and high courts has been raised to `10 lakh and `15 lakh respectively, said the ministry. “Special leave petitions received from the field formations for filing appeals in Supreme Court against High Court orders are examined critically at the higher level in the board and opinion of the law officer (AG) also taken so that SLPs are filed only in the desiring cases,” said ministry.

Also cases are withdraw in all cases in the High Court and CESTAT where there is a precedent Supreme Court decision.

The finance ministry said that zonal chief commissioner have been directed to identify cases fit for withdrawal amongst the cases pending in appeal before CESTAT and High Court.