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Mohan Padmanabhan

Kolkata Sept. 8

SENIOR lawyers and practising chartered accountants, while welcoming the move by the Union Government to set up a national tax tribunal (both for direct and indirect taxes) for speedy disposal of appeal cases have criticised the selection criteria pertaining to appointment of technical member (Direct Taxes) to the NTT.

The Government is now poised to announce the setting up of the tribunal through an Ordinance, as all necessary clearances have been obtained, and the popular opinion among legal luminaries and CAs was that there is a great danger of the NTT becoming a dumping ground for inadequately qualified (in legal matters) people.

Any order passed by the national tax tribunal shall be final and shall be given effect to accordingly, and no court (except the Supreme Court) shall have or be entitled to exercise any jurisdiction, power or authority with respect to any of the matters falling within the jurisdiction of the national tax tribunal.

Talking to Business Line, Mr G.P. Agarwal, senior chartered accountant and expert on direct tax matters, said going by the qualifications proposed, while a person shall not be qualified for appointment as a judicial member, unless he is, or has been, a judge of a High Court or has for 20 years been an advocate of a High Court, or has been a judicial member of the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal for at least seven years, in the case of a technical member, it would be enough if he has been a Member of the CBDT or Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax for just one year.

In fact, only a person who has been a judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a High Court can qualify to become the chairperson of the NTT.

Retired Members of the board or a CCIT with just one year's experience may jeopardise the very purpose for which such an important body was being formed, he added. The NTT's verdict would apply to the whole of the land and also encompass judgments of different High Courts on the same subject. There would be a great deal of uniformity, and matters only on points of law would go to the Supreme Court, he added.

According to Mr Narayan Jain, senior tax lawyer, since the NTT was being set up by taking away the powers of the High Court, it was inappropriate to appoint persons from the administrative wing of tax administration (without necessary legal background) as technical members.

A judicial process needed a judicial mind, and anyone with a revenue-centric mind may not be the right choice for the NTT.

As per the National Tribunal Act, 2003, the tribunal shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction, powers and authority in respect of contempt of itself as the High Court and any reference therein to a High Court shall be construed as including a reference to the apex Tribunal.

The Tribunal shall have same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

NTT would have 50 members on about 25 benches - 15 for direct taxes and 10 for indirect taxes.

Mr Jain said the chairperson and every member of the tribunal would hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters his office and shall be eligible for re-appointment, subject to age criterion. In the case of chairperson, the upper age limit is 68 years, and for a Member, it is 65 years.

The selection committee for appointment of chairperson and members will comprise the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, chairperson of the tax tribunal, Secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice (Dept of Legal Affairs) and Secretary in Finance Ministry (Department of Revenue).

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