President Pranab Mukherjee today asked people to follow Guru Nanak Devji's teachings of brotherhood, compassion and love and "erase suspicion" and "banish all violence from thought, word and deed".
In his message on the eve of Guru Nanak Devji's birthday, the President asked people to imbibe the "revered Guru's noble teachings of brotherhood, compassion and love. Let us dedicate ourselves to the service of the downtrodden."
He said Guru Nanak Devji believed that service of man is supreme and called upon all people to lead a moral and righteous life.
"As we celebrate Guru Nanak Devji's birthday, let us erase suspicion and hatred from our hearts and banish all violence from thought, word and deed," he said.
The technical sessions at the ITAT event will deliberate
on three important areas of taxation -- tax jurisprudence in cross-border transactions, emergence of technology in justice delivery system and tax litigation viz-a-viz ease of doing business in India.
"These three are critical components of taxation policy and litigation management system for providing a stable, fair and equitable taxation regime," Mukherjee said.
Due to technology, the speed of business has increased exponentially, he said.
"The tech-savvy entrepreneurs and global Indians demand justice delivery system in line with the best global practices. Meeting the expectations of these 21st century entrepreneurs is a challenging job," Mukherjee said.
He expressed hope that ITAT members and the Ministry of Law will respond to these challenges pro-actively at a time when the growth and expansion of direct taxation system has put extra responsibility on the Tribunal.
There are 63 ITAT benches, which operate from 27 centres spread across the country.
Referring to the initiative of e-courts, through which members of the Tribunals are disposing of cases through video conferencing, Mukherjee said the example set up by members of ITAT at Ahmedabad, who disposed of 300 appeals at Rajkot in a month, is an indication of willingness on the part of the members to adopt new processes and procedures.
"You need to replicate such kinds of practices all over the country and become a true symbol of bringing tax justice at the doorsteps of the tax payers," the President said.
Till the setting up of Tribunal in 1941, the adjudication of tax disputes was through an internal administrative mechanism, which lacked neutrality and independence.
The established model of ITAT has been used to set up Tribunals in the areas of indirect taxes, administration, railways and foreign exchange.
"The replication of ITAT model in constitution of other tribunals makes it a 'Mother Tribunal' of the country," the President said.
