Centre to withdraw Rs.6,000-cr worth tax cases

Following an increase in threshold limit for filing appeals in tribunals, Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the government hopes to cut 41 percent of tax cases.

Briefing the media on steps taken for reducing tax litigation, Goyal said, "The government hopes to cut 41 percent of tax cases after raising threshold limit for filing appeals in tribunals and courts."

He added the income-tax refunds worth over Rs 70,000 crore have been issued to the taxpayers.

"Income-tax refunds worth over Rs 70,000 crore have been issued to the taxpayers. Tax cases worth Rs 5 lakh crore stuck in litigation; new thresholds will lead to a reduction of 18 percent in tax cases," he said.

The Union Minister further stated that the government is constantly making changes in the interest of honest taxpayers.

In order to reduce the long pending grievances of taxpayers and to minimise litigations pertaining to tax matters and facilitate the Ease of Doing Business, the Centre decided to increase the threshold monetary limits for filing Departmental Appeals at various levels, be it Appellate Tribunals, High Courts and the Supreme Court.

This is being perceived as a major step in the direction of litigation management of both direct and indirect taxes as it will effectively reduce minor litigations and help the Department to focus on high-value litigations.