Raised tax appeal limits lead to Rs 16,690 crore drop in disputed tax demand: Govt
New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) The increase in monetary thresholds for filing departmental tax dispute appeals before appellate forums has led to an estimated reduction of about Rs 16,690 crore in disputed tax demand, the government informed Parliament on Monday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the enhanced monetary limits, notified after the Union Budget 2024-25, resulted in thousands of departmental appeals being withdrawn or not filed before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), high courts and the Supreme Court.
According to her, 443 cases were withdrawn and 11,390 appeals were not filed before the ITAT, leading to an estimated reduction in disputed tax demand of Rs 3,662.82 crore.
Before the high courts, 4,791 cases were withdrawn while 5,565 appeals were not filed, resulting in an estimated reduction of Rs 9,218.71 crore in disputed tax demand.
At the Supreme Court, 744 cases were withdrawn and appeals were not filed in 534 cases, reducing disputed tax demand by an estimated Rs 3,807.15 crore.
Overall, the estimated reduction in disputed tax demand across the three appellate forums stood at Rs 16,690 crore, FM Sitharaman said.
Moreover, through the Union Budget 2024-25, the government had raised the monetary limits for filing departmental appeals in direct tax matters to Rs 60 lakh before the ITAT, Rs 2 crore before high courts and Rs 5 crore before the Supreme Court, with effect from September 17, 2024.
FM Sitharaman also noted that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has undertaken several measures over the past 12 years to simplify tax compliance and improve taxpayer services.
These include the introduction of pre-filled income tax returns, the revamped Form 26AS, the facility to file updated returns, faceless assessment and appeal schemes, removal of higher TDS/TCS provisions for non-filers of income tax returns, rationalisation of the safe harbour regime and expansion of the presumptive taxation scheme.
–IANS
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