The author laments the prevalent tendency to enact retrospective legislation to nullify judgements that are unpalatable to the Finance Ministry. He argues that this tendency undermines the sanctity of the rule of law and shows scant respect to the judiciary.

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was established in the year 1941, on a demand from the assessees, perhaps the Bar also, that there should be an independent body of persons to determine the facts or there should be the final court of facts, so far as the Income Tax is concerned. Perhaps this was the first Tribunal which was created in the country. I don’t know whether it was then called Tribunal, Financial Commissioners, as Tribunals were known, when they were hearing revenue appeals. Over the past 66 years, it has fully justified its existence. People have faith in it. Few aberrations here and there are accepted. This is perhaps the only Tribunal, the existence of which has silenced the debate whether we should Tribunalise the justice or not. This is one of the Tribunals, existence of which is not questioned. There are many other Tribunals which have been constituted and which Governments want to constitute, their existence is being questioned or people are asking: If ultimately we have to go to the High Court or to the Supreme Court, why have Tribunals?

I, however, remember till today the eventful one month that preceded the closure of proceedings which I had commenced with great fervour and enthusiasm against the Birlas as a young company circle officer of the Income-tax Deptt. at Calcutta and my first and last encounter with the redoubtable N.A. Palkhivala!

Analysis of recent Supreme Court judgements CA Kapil Goel The author has made a critical analysis of four recent and important decisions of the Supreme Court in R & B Falcon vs. CIT, Goetze India vs. CIT 284 ITR 323, …

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Conduct on and off the Bench* Hon’ble Shri P. P. Parikh, Vice President, ITAT, Hyderabad Bench The author has given invaluable tips on the delicate subject of how a Member of the Tribunal should conduct himself inside and ouside the …

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The Art of Writing Judgments* Hon’ble Shri M. A. Bakshi, Vice President, ITAT, Chandigarh Bench The author explains that a judgment is not a piece of literature to be written in the style of Shakespeare or Milton but its language …

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Since tax deduction is only one of the modes of recovery and recovery can be attained by any other mode, the Querist must be treated as discharged from his obligation to recover tax by deduction, once the payee has paid the tax on his own.

Over period of time, Rules have traditionally played hand maids to Statutory Provisions. This is discipline that was religiously followed both by the law makers and the judiciary. Rules were always meant to be subservient to the Statute. A conflict between the Statute and the Rules was therefore always resolved in favour of the former. The role of Rules, as subordinate legislation, was well understood. Even where Rules were created not by delegated legislation, but by the law makers themselves, they did not enjoy the same force as a principal enactment. This principle was well observed by the Gujarat High Court in its tax decision in the case of CIT vs. Satellite Engineering Ltd. [1978] as reported in 113 ITR 208, 223 (Guj).

The author has made a critical analysis of the provisions of the Finance Bill 2008 and argues that some of its provisions may be unconstitutional.

The learned Judge has made a succinct analysis of the basic and fundamental principles of natural justice