The petitioner filed an appeal on 14.10.2022, which remained pending before the Commissioner [CIT(A) for more than two years. Aggrieved by the delay, the petitioner approached the High Court through a writ petition, seeking directions to dispose of the pending appeal within 4 to 8 weeks and to issue guidelines for timely disposal of pending appeals. The petitioner also sought interest and compensatory costs for the delay in adjudication. During the hearing, the Senior Standing Counsel for the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) submitted a roadmap for the disposal of 5,49,042 pending appeals in a time-bound manner, as per the Central Action Plan 2024-25, which was taken on record by the Court. The High Court observed that the NFAC was created to expedite disposal of appeals and expressed concern over the large backlog. While it did not issue specific guidelines, it expected NFAC to implement remedial measures earnestly. Regarding the petitioner’s appeal, the court noted with concern that it had been pending for more than two years and directed that it be taken up for consideration and disposed of expeditiously, within eight weeks. No order was passed on the request for interest or compensatory costs [WP(C) 356/2025 and CM Appl. 1749/2025, dt. 24.02.2025]
Suparshva Swabs (I) v. NFAC (Delhi)(HC)www.itatonline.org
250: Appeal – Commissioner (Appeals) – Procedure – Delay in disposal – Faceless Appeal – Central Action Plan – Held that the NFAC would endeavour to implement the said remedial measures in all earnest- Writ petition filed seeking time-bound disposal – Direction issued to dispose of appeal within eight weeks. [S.246A, Art.226]
The disposal should be by passing speaking order judiciously and not by remanding back the order to learned AO saying that CIT(A) does not have time due to high pendency of appeals. This is nothing but murder of justice.