Interaction of Hon’ble Union Law Minister Shri Kiran Rijiju with the stakeholders of the ITAT

The Hon’ble Union Law Minister Shri Kiren Rijiju visited the Hon’ble Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on January 15, 2023 to interact with the stakeholders of the ITAT. The Union Minister along with the President of ITAT Shri G.S. Pannu, Vice President of ITAT Shri R.S. Syal and other members of the Bar visited the court rooms and the library of the ITAT Bar Association. The Union Minister was impressed with the infrastructure facilities and the manner in which it was maintained. He was also pleased to find old books preserved in excellent condition.

Hon’ble Law Minister interacted with the Senior Advocates, Dr. Y. P. Trivedi, Mr. Phiroz Andyarujina, Mr. Percy Pardiwala and Dr. K. Shivaram. Various associations viz.  ITAT Bar Association – Mumbai, Bombay Chartered Accountants Society, All India Federation of Tax Professionals (AIFTP), WIRC of ICAI and Chamber of Tax Consultants were present. The AIFTP presented their suggestions to the Hon’ble Union Minister.

Everyone gathered at Court room no. 1. Mr.  Porus Kaka, Senior Advocate, President ITAT Bar Association Mumbai was called to share his thoughts. The efficiency and effectiveness of the ITAT is credited to the good work by the stakeholders. The ITAT Mumbai bench has an online presence with over 50,0000 members. He further stated that over 2/3^rd of the Global Disputes in the field of Transfer Pricing and International Tax are in India. Therefore, the ITAT plays a critical role in shaping global jurisprudence. He mentioned that though the pendency of appeals before the ITAT has come down drastically from 3,00,000 in 1989 to 39,000 in 2023, there is bottle neck of appeals before the 1^st Appellate Authority as there are over 5,00,000 appeals pending before the said forum, and hence there may be a rise in the numbers in future.

Smt. Shailaja Rai, Commissioner of Income-tax, Representing the Departmental Representative suggested that the law should be dynamic and should change with time. She raised two issues for consideration 1. Combating Money Laundering and tax evasion, 2. Procedural gaps in tax proceedings need to be filled to avoid giving tax evaders a free pass on technical grounds.

Hon’ble Shri GS Pannu, President ITAT, thanked Hon’ble Law Minister for his support for the development of ITAT. He appreciated Minister’s efforts on the issues arising in the cadre of the members which was unresolved since the 1971.

The Hon’ble Union Law Minister was called upon to address the audience. The was impressed to notice the efficiency of the ITAT and how it has effectively reduced the pendency. He has assured his commitment to resolve any issues. The Minister mentioned that he was working towards repealing old and archaic laws. He has expressed the intentions of the Hon’ble Prime Minister that the law is for the citizens and the Government wants to achieve the goal of maximum governance and minimum interference of the government and thus the professionals have a greater responsibility towards society. He has further assured the infrastructural changes in the different benches of ITAT. He stated that India will soon become a major economic hub of the world.

Hon’ble Vice President Shri R.S. Syal, gave the vote of thanks. Everyone arose for the National Anthem and the meeting ended with positive thoughts.