I-T dept biggest litigant in Govt, says Pranab

NEW DELHI, JULY 24
Calling it the biggest litigant in the entire Government, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today asked the Income Tax Department to reexamine the way it handles tax disputes.
Speaking at the 150th anniversary of the Income Tax in India, Mukherjee also exuded confidence that direct tax collections, hit by the global financial crisis in the last two fiscals, will regain its pre-crisis collection with the economy poised to grow by 8.5 per cent this fiscal, nine per cent the following year and double digits thereafter.
“One area of concern is litigation with taxpayers. The Department is filing appeals in a routine manner without careful thought and examination leading to the Department earning the dubious distinction of being the biggest litigant in the Government of India,” Mukherjee said.
He said some of the appeals filed by the department have been dismissed by the courts on account of inordinate delays.
“These issues require a re-look at the system of legal and judicial management,” the finance minister said.
He said that there must be institutional arrangements to address tax disputes to the satisfaction of both taxpayers and tax collectors so as to reduce the number of litigations.
The finance minister said that the proposed Direct Taxes Code, expected to replace the Income Tax Act from the next fiscal, will provide a taxation regime which is simple and broad based.