Tax dispute limits doubled for appeals in high courts, Supreme Court

The government has doubled the monetary limits of tax disputes for filing appeals by the income-tax (I-T) department in high courts and the Supreme Court (SC). This is seen as a move to reduce tax dispute cases.  

The limits for filing appeals in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) have been more than doubled. 

The existing floor for filing appeals in the ITAT stands at Rs 20 lakh. It has since been revised to Rs 50 lakh. 

Similarly, the limit for appealing against an order in the high courts has been revised up to Rs 1 crore, from Rs 50 lakh. 

Now appeals can be filed in the SC, if a tax dispute is over Rs 2 crore, against the present Rs 1 crore. 

“There is substantial pendency of appeals of the I-T department before various appellate fora. This (the decision to hike monetary limits) will further reduce time, effort, and resources presently deployed in litigation to focus on issues involving litigation of substantial value,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement here. 

The limits were last revised in July 2018.