Govt set to devise system for delayed tax appeals

The ministry of law and justice and the income-tax (I-T) department has undertaken measures to strengthen its monitoring system to avoid filing delayed appeals in tax matters before the Supreme Court.

The ministry of law and justice and the income-tax (I-T) department has undertaken measures to strengthen its monitoring system to avoid filing delayed appeals in tax matters before the Supreme Court.

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After being pulled up by a bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia, the I-T department filed an affidavit assuring there would be no more delays in appealing against high court decisions in tax cases.

Last week, the bench had expressed concern over the I-T department's lethargy in filing such appeals causing huge revenue loss to the government.

The department's failure to act despite court's repeated reminders prompted the court to draw the finance and law ministers' personal attention to the "peculiar phenomenon" of filing appeals beyond the limitation period of 90 days. The court had made its observations while hearing income-tax department, Mumbai's appeal against Citibank.

Subsequent to the court order, the ministry of law and IT department held a meeting on September 21 and considered the suggestions submitted by additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran.

The senior law officer has suggested setting up a separate team of officers, possibly to be deputed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to be present in the court to observe the proceedings and note the court directions in terms of filing documents and affidavits.

The team would follow it up with the officials concerned to ensure court directions are complied with. This, Parasaran added, would avoid unnecessary adjournments. The recommendation assumes significance since court's repeated concern over the delay did not yield any result until the court addressed its last order to the finance and law ministers personally.