(a) whether certain tribunals constituted to dispose the cases of direct and indirect cases are taking excessive time in disposing the pending cases;
(b) if so, the number of cases pending before each of such tribunal till date; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government for the quick disposal of pending cases?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)
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(a): No Sir. The tribunals constituted to dispose of the cases of Direct and Indirect taxes viz. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), respectively dispose the pending cases in reasonable timeframe.
(b): The number of cases pending before the ITAT and CESTAT as on November, 2019 is 90082 and 77635, respectively.
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(c): The steps taken for the quick disposal of the pending cases, inter alia, include:-
(i) Continuous monitoring of expeditious disposal of old appeals;
(ii) Filling up of vacancies in the benches, registry & other allied officials;
(iii) Utilization of modern technology tools like computerization and e-courts etc. to liquidate pendencies.
(iv) Issue of instruction by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) dated 04.04.2018 for withdrawal of all appeals filed by the Department involving revenue stake up to Rs.20 Lakhs. This has helped in reducing the proportion of cases in CESTAT.