India's Higher Tax Appeal Limits Cut Disputed Demand by ₹16.7 trillion

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha that raising the monetary thresholds for filing tax‑dispute appeals in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, high courts and the Supreme Court has reduced the total disputed tax demand by about Rs 16,690 crore. The reduction comes from 443 cases withdrawn and 11,390 appeals not filed at the ITAT (Rs 3,662.82 crore), 4,791 withdrawals and 5,565 non‑filings at the high courts (Rs 9,218.71 crore), and 744 withdrawals plus 534 non‑filings at the Supreme Court (Rs 3,807.15 crore).

The Union Budget 2024‑25 increased the filing limits to Rs 60 lakh for the ITAT, Rs 2 crore for high courts and Rs 5 crore for the Supreme Court, complementing a decade‑long push for easier tax compliance that includes pre‑filled ITRs, faceless assessment and appeal schemes, updated Form 26AS and other measures.

In recent court rulings, the Supreme Court upheld a service‑tax demand of roughly Rs 16.68 crore against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd for CNG sales to Mahanagar Gas Ltd, and dismissed a petition to interfere with a Delhi High Court order that had quashed income‑tax reassessment notices for GE Power Solutions (Malaysia). The Patna High Court also permitted a taxpayer to appeal GST notices issued without a signature.