Income Tax (IT) disputes which were pending as on March 31, 2019, for the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has aggregated to Rs 5.71 lakh crore, as per CBDT report for FY20.
Though the proportion of new appeals has increased, the disposal of these appeals has diminished from the last year, the report stated. The number of cases disposed of was 1.20 lakh during FY19 while there was 1.23 lakh in the previous year. There were 1.41 lakh new appeals in FY19 while there was 1.17 lakh in the previous one.
CBDT want to dispose of all the cases where IT demands is Rs 50 crore or more and are also looking at the needs of small taxpayers where the demand is less than Rs 2 lakh. About 90 percent of the cases with smaller demands are to be disposed of in FY20.
If taxpayers disagree with the I-T demands raised on them, a particular structure is followed. The first level comprises of CITs-Appeal, operating within the organisation. Orders passed by them can either favor the taxpayer or the I-T department, based on the evidence and facts.
The next level involves appeal filed with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, an independent judicial body. Appeals against the orders of this can be filed only if there is a question of law.
CBDT releases its action plan on an annual basis. Last year’s plan was criticised it could have proven to be harmful to taxpayers. The current year’s action plan is free of any such disproval.
(With inputs from online business website)
