Reportedly, the Government of India is planning to withdraw the pending cases in which disputed tax is below Rs 10 lakh for the Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunals (CESTAT) and Rs 15 lakh for high courts. The Government has identified 7,500 cases related to service tax and Customs.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) have started filing applications with the tribunals and the High Courts seeking withdrawal of the cases. “We have begun the process of withdrawing cases. We have identified approximately 7,500 cases in the CESTAT and the High courts. Now, it is up to the judicial bodies to allow the withdrawal,” said an official.
The CESTAT is an independent body considering the appeals against orders passed by commissioners of customs and excise relating to service tax, customs, and central excise.
The department, however, is not seeking withdrawal of cases from the Supreme Court. “We are not touching the cases pending before the Supreme Court because cases at that level are few and most relate to matters of law,” the official added. The move is expected to clear the litigation backlog. Already, about 75 percent of cases are settled in favor of taxpayers.
There is also a new appraisal system for tax officials in place, which discourages them to issue frivolous tax notices.
