Income Tax Appellate Tribunal chief GS Pannu says paying tax honestly is the best way to save tax

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal President GS Pannu said the best way to save on taxes is by paying it honestly.

Speaking at an interactive session on New India and the Tax Regime organised by the India Legal Research Foundation (ILRF) on Saturday, Pannu implored citizens to pay their taxes on time. The ITAT chief added that people should never evade taxes as the same would continue to compound.

APN News Editor-in-Chief Rajshri Rai, who hosted the session, asked Pannu about the ITAT’s ambit of work. Pannu said the Tribunal essentially dealt with direct taxes. He said the process was relatively simple at ITAT as the Tribunal did not ask people to arrange for affidavits and witnesses, like in a court. This led to faster adjudication of cases, he added. 

He said earlier there was a curtain between businesses and the tax authorities, however, there was more transparency now.

The ITAT chief said the appeals against Tribunal orders reached the High Courts only when there was a substantial question of law involved and not over the facts of the case.

Talking about ITAT, he said the tribunal court was doing a wonderful job in clearing cases and taking up issues related to the dispute resolution.

From 2017 to 2023, the ITAT had a negative growth in pendency with the setting up of more benches across the country. The ITAT benches were at 30 locations and had a total 63 benches, the largest number in Delhi and Mumbai.

He said 32 lakh judgements have already been passed and the pendency has been brought down to 40000.

Speaking on progressive taxation, he said such taxation will ensure better tax payment with lower tax rates and can lessen the burden of indirect taxes which hit the poor harder.  

Senior Advocate and ILRF Chairman Pradeep Rai concluded the session, saying that Pannu was heading a very important tribunal.

Rai noted that interpretations of the law play a vital part in income tax cases while referring to a case involving a bigtime Bollywood star. In the case, Mumbai tax authorities had challenged the star’s tax status as an artist since he was also an anchor in a game show and anchors come under the tax bracket, the Senior Advocate added.