Taxindiaonline.com conducted a programe to examine the problems being faced by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (“ITAT”). The programme was attended by Mr R. P. Garg, Former Senior V-P, ITAT, Mr G. C. Srivastava, Advocate and former DG (International Taxation) and Mr Ajay Wadhwa, President, ITAT Bar Association, Delhi. The discussions were moderated by TIOL’s Founder Editor, Shailendra Kumar. The experts have explained the reasons for the problems being faced by the ITAT also also given practical solutions on how to resolve the said problems.
If only the ITAT refuses to accept the cases which are filed by the department which is against the directions of the CBDT the work load will substantially decrease and the quality improves .
the one and the only solution to lessen the pain is by restructuring the tribunal set up. that is have decentralization. that is adding more members and more benches of the tribunal. why not have separate benches for agra, ghaziabad, gurgaon, faridabad, hissar . likewise decentralize benches to several regions in maharashtra. for instance aurangabad must have its own bench in maharashtra. wonder why they need to go to pune. likewise increase benches and courts in metros. induct more mature and seasoned senior advocates in tribunal and ca professionals. second solution according to me is use of IT to its maximum potential. also scrap paper books submissions. if one is arguing the matter orally then where is the question of considering paper book. at best a paper document can be shown only if asked in the court and then can be returned. a copy may be kept only if required. thirdly judgements must be written as briefly as possible without reproducing text of any previous judgement. a small mention may be enough. a 100 page judgement running across several cases will not serve much purpose when a 5 page judgement that mention only one recent case can help arrive at the same decision. the youtube discussion judge procedural nittigrities/irregularities of olden times and only raise issues and problems with little strive to the solutions. the sum up is not hinting to any solution. u bet the solution only lie in adding more members and benches. gopal nathani
I DO AGREE THAT MORE BENCHES BE SET UP AT VARIOUS CITIES IN INDIA AS TRAVELLING FAR OFF PLACES BY VARIOUS PROFESSIONALS AND ASSESSEES WOULD BE CRIMINAL WASTE OF TIME, ENERGY AND COST INVOLVED. RATHER SEPARATE BENCHES WOULD SERVE THE PURPOSE OF RENDERING JUSTICE TO MASS ASSESSEES WHO DO NOT AFFORD LITIGATION DUE TO HIGH COSTS AND TIME INVOLVEMENT . THIS WILL REDUCE CORRUPTION LEVEL ALSO,IF ANY.