ITAT has made its mark for professional excellence, an exception to general perception of tribunalisation: CJI SA Bobde

On the occasion of the 79th Foundation Day of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde lauded the ITAT for its complete functional independence as a premier tribunal in India..He observed,.“A step much ahead of its time, it was India’s first experiment with the Tribunals, and it has proven to be a very successful one. It is a recognized fact that over the years, ITAT through its transparent working has protected the faith of the assessee as well as the revenue authorities. It has complete functional independence, a high degree of legal and technical expertise, assessee friendly approach and quick decision-making.”.He went on to add,.“… if there is one Tribunal in India that has made its mark for its professional excellence, independence and neutrality, it is Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. To that extent, the ITAT is certainly an exception to the general perceptions about tribunalization of justice.”CJI SA Bobde.During the course of his address, CJI Bobde also touched upon the need for the ITAT to deal with the complex subject of tax and the importance of speedy justice in tax law to incentivise tax payers to fulfil their dues..“… Tax judiciary plays a very important role in resource mobilization of the country. A just and speedy dispute resolution is perceived as a tax incentive by the tax payer. To tax collector, an efficient tax judiciary ensures that demands arising out of legitimate assessments, are not strangled in delayed litigation. While tax evasion is a social injustice to fellow citizens, arbitrary or excessive tax also results in social injustice by the government itself..Speedy justice being one of the most important aspect of a civilized world, delays in administration of justice are of paramount concern. These delays, as also the need of specialized domain knowledge, have been the basic justifications for the creations of Tribunals.”.CJI Bobde also took appreciative note of the use of technology such as video conferencing for remote disposal of cases by the ITAT. He proceeded to muse that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) would also be a step forward in boosting the ITAT’s facilities. He remarked,.“Understanding the nature of the matters decided by the Tribunal, Artificial Intelligence can play a very significant role in docket management and decision making..The Artificial Intelligence systems we are currently looking to employ in courts, possesses reading speeds of one million characters per second. I can imagine a system similar to this can be used to read and extract all relevant facts, compute tax effect and assist in a myriads of new ways, to propel the pace of decision-making. I find it reassuring to discover that more nations are taking steps towards experimenting and implementing Artificial Intelligence in their respective Justice Delivery System.”.CJI Bobde went on to point out,.“This goes to say that we are doing and must continue to do everything in order tackle with the workload in Judicial process. Artificial Intelligence, as I see, brings new hope to drive the public faith to our institutions.”CJI Bobde.CJI Bobde also observed that the case-pendency rates before the ITAT has been falling over the years. He commented,.“One of the most transparent measure to adjudge performance is your ability to dispose of the cases. Lower pendency figures also inspire public faith in the institutions. I am happy to note that there is a constant negative growth in the sense that disposals are more than institution.”CJI SA Bobde.He concluded his address by observing that the institution must continue to evolve..“As we bask in the glory of the good work done by our predecessors, we must constantly strive for excellence in whatever we do. The institution must carry on its legacy to follow the best practices and commitment to evolve..As Palkhivala would say, ‘to tax and to please is not given to men; but to tax and be fair is.’”