The government has planned to withdraw 7,500 cases related to service tax and Customs from tribunals and high courts where the disputed tax is below the threshold set in December at Rs 10 lakh for the Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) and Rs 15 lakh for high courts. The move is expected to clear the litigation backlog. However, it is not seeking withdrawal of cases from the Supreme Court because cases at that level are few and most relate to matters of law.
Following the decision, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) have started filing applications with the tribunals and high courts seeking withdrawal of the cases. The step is taken to make the tax regime non-adversarial, with a focus on quality rather than meeting collection targets.
Moreover, the CBEC is instructing tax officials to issue notices based on merit alone and are training them on how to issue legally sound notices and orders which is being imparted on the qualities of a good adjudication order, advocacy, interpretation of statutes as well as drafting of laws. Further, it has instructed zonal chief commissioners and principal commissioners to hold monthly or bi-monthly meetings with all the adjudicating and appellate authorities in their zones and advise them on how to pass orders. Besides, pre-notice consultation at the level of principal commissioner and commissioner has been made mandatory in all cases where the tax involved is above Rs 50 lakh.
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