REDUCING LITIGATION

Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs app to cut litigation time

Named 'Samay', the app will capture all the pending orders across levels from adjudicating officer to the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (Cestat) to High Courts, and reflect the pendency of review orders that are either under process at various levels or awaiting processing at the commissionerate level. The initiative will greatly reduce the litigation time, CBIC officials said.

Fixing tax issues of small online sellers, reducing cost of litigation for MSMEs will help the sector: FISME

At a roundtable event held recently in the capital, FISME tabled the current MSME issues plaguing the industry in a presentation to ‘Friends of MSME’ in Parliament (a group of members of Parliament across parties).

Make pre-litigation mediation for commercial cases voluntary: Sanjeev Sanyal of EAC-PM

Citing the recent Mediation Act, 2023, the ECA-PM member called for a need to amend section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 to make mediation voluntary saying it will reduce the timeline of dispute resolution by three to five months and lower the legal costs that entrepreneurs have to bear.

Urgent need to take pro-active steps to clear huge backlog of cases, curtail delaying methods: SC

The Supreme Court of India has issued a series of directions to address the backlog of cases and ensure speedy justice. The court emphasized the need for proactive steps to clear the backlog and reduce delays in proceedings. It directed all courts at district and taluka levels to take measures such as executing summons, filing written statements, completing pleadings, recording admissions and denials, and fixing trial dates promptly. The court also called for the setting up of committees to monitor old cases pending for over five years. It stressed the importance of a robust justice delivery system for social harmony and economic growth.

It's high time to unclog India's judicial system by reducing government litigation

LIMBS is an online database of court cases in which GoI is a party. It has information on 6,45,000 live cases. Since case details are updated unevenly by different ministries, it is far from perfect, but LIMBS offers a bird's eye view of the nature of the problem. Around 42% of the cases of the ministries of finance and defence are more than five years old. The same holds true for 55% of cases in railways, 49% in labour and employment, and 36% in CAG.

MSMEs blame litigation tangle, cost for being a segment killer

The sluggish and ineffective legal system in India hampers entrepreneurial growth and adversely affects the MSME sector, FISME said.

Election observer: How ADR has been fighting to reduce criminality and corruption in polls

It is hard for me to think of an organisation that has had more impact in Indian politics over the past quarter-century than ADR. It now has partners in every state and technology has made data-gathering and analysis easier than in the early years and its reports have become a critical part in the run-up to and aftermath of elections, state and national.

Average time taken for issuing I-T refunds reduced to 16 days in 2022-23: CBDT chairman

The Indian income tax department has reduced the average time taken to issue refunds and expedited the processing of returns thanks to technological advancements, according to Chairman Nitin Gupta. Around 80% of refunds were issued during the first 30 days of filing during the 2022-23 fiscal year, up from 60% the preceding year, Gupta said.

Kiren Rijiju moved out; Arjun Meghwal new law minister

Kiren Rijiju was on Thursday removed as Union law minister and Arjun Meghwal assumed charge as minister of state for law. ET takes a look at areas which may require redress from the law ministry and Rijiju's skirmishes with the judiciary:

Retro amendment clears key GST doubt, but opens door for further litigation

The Finance Bill proposes to do away with GST on merchant trade, in-bond sale and high sea sales. But by not refunding the tax collected under these categories, the government is opening another can of worms.

80,000 cases pending before CESTAT; Govt to set up committee to suggest steps to reduce litigation

"What we will do in the government and we will seek support from CESTAT and CBIC is with us, we will set up a group and see how we can reduce litigation and reduce pendency. Whether it is by simplifying, clarifying law or training (officers), what are the various ways we can reduce fresh litigation and provide for expeditious disposal of pending cases," Malhotra said.

Top EU judge expects a wave of litigation from tech giants against new tech law

The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force in November, will classify online platforms with more than 45 million users as gatekeepers, among other criteria.

Finance, railways, defence ministries among top 5 litigants in govt

The railways ministry has 1.08 lakh pending cases, including 554 in the top court, while the defence ministry has over 85,000 pending cases, which include 1,235 in the apex court. The labour and employment ministry is party to over 78,000 pending cases, including 320 in the top court. The home ministry has over 23,000 pending cases in various courts and tribunals, including 968 in the Supreme Court.

System error: How automated notices under GST is leading to proliferation of disputes and litigations

This has resulted in a significant spurt in the issue of show-cause notices on taxpayers without any intervention of the tax officers, but solely basis information available on the GSTN, automatically.

Budget: FM proposes system to lessen litigation by IT department

"Taking forward our policy of sound litigation management, I propose to provide that if a question of law in the case of an assessee is identical to a question of law which is pending in appeal before the jurisdictional high court or the Supreme Court, the filing of a further appeal in the case of this assessee by the department shall be deferred till such a question of law is decided by the jurisdictional high court or the Supreme Court," the minister said in her budget speech.

Assam govt to come up with litigation policy wherein cases with quantum of sentence of less than three years will be withdrawn

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “In next 15 days we will come up with a new litigation policy wherein cases where three years’ sentences and cases which were brought by state will be withdrawn. We will move court in this regard. By this measure we will be able to wipe out 86,000 cases.”

CBDT issues SOP for faceless assessment to cut tax litigation, clear doubts

Officials have been asked to send a centralised communication to the taxpayers in case of non-responsiveness to the notices. It has also been suggested that a physical letter be sent at the latest known address along with text messages to the assessees. The SOP also specifically provides for timelines for each step of the process, which are to be adhered to by the various units.

Retail and real estate will continue to see major litigations in the post-pandemic world: Ameet Naik, Naik Naik & Co

After the pandemic had struck and there was the imposition of lockdown, due to restriction movements, there was a huge impact on the Retail Sector since the goods could not be transported from one part to the other.

Security of former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb reduced after uproar

A senior police officer said that altogether four cars (carrying 20 security personnel) including first pilot car, tail car and spare car and its security forces were dropped from the convoy of Deb. Deb resigned on May 14 from the chief minister’s post however he continued to enjoy the “Z” category security cover. Deb became the Chief Minister on March 9, 2018.

Persuade litigants to opt for ADR mechanisms: CJI to district judiciary

Laying the foundation stone of the new complex for the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Chief Justice Ramana expressed the hope that the new court premises, spread around 1.7 lakh square meters, with an estimated cost of Rs 310 crores having all modern facilities and amenities, becomes the new norm for construction of future court buildings.

Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal urges govt to reduce litigation in telecom sector

“I would request the government to lower the temperature of the industry when it comes to litigation. Old cases need to be settled and the new cases need to be avoided through light touch regulation,” Mittal said

India Mobile Congress 2021: Industry bats for collaboration, reduced litigation and a shift towards 4G

Potential govt withdrawal of OTSC case will reduce litigation in telecom sector: Credit Suisse

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) will be the most impacted by the OTSC case outcome. DoT has pegged Airtel’s OTSC dues at Rs 8,414 crore. Airtel recorded Rs 1,807.5 crore charge towards OTSC in 2019-20, and treated the balance Rs 6,606.5 crore as a contingent liability.