A real burden: Tax disputes worth trillions are choking India's growth

With ₹16 trillion locked in unresolved tax disputes, India must urgently reform its judicial and tax systems to clear backlogs and restore investor confidence in a rule-based economy

Across India’s high courts, tax disputes are alarmingly piling up. A recent analysis by the research organisation DAKSH, also reported by this newspaper, has found that over 12,000 tax cases (nearly 34 per cent) have been pending in high courts for more than a decade without a single hearing. The India Justice Report 2025 also painted a similar picture, noting that nearly half of all high court cases had been pending for over five years. Delays in tax litigation underline one of India’s most persistent structural bottlenecks that poses risks to revenue realisation, business sentiment, and the rule of law.