Page 20 - Banking Finance November 2022

LEGAL UPDATE

Legal

Lok Adalat to take up According to official data, a maximum ITAT comes to rescue of
of nearly 1.7 lakh cases are related to
pending consumer court taxpayer over filing error
insurance companies and 71,379 com-
cases plaints are pending against banks. The The Mumbai bench of the Income Tax
total number of complaints related to Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has frowned
For the first time, the National Lok
the electricity sector is around 34,000. upon a "hyperpedantic approach"
Adalat scheduled to be on November
adopted by an I-T officer in denying a
12 across the country will take up and
dispose of pending consumers cases 1 lakh cases pending in long-term capital gains (LTCG) exemp-
tion claimed by a non-resident tax-
through settlement, the consumer af-
lower courts for more payer. The rejection was merely be-
fairs ministry said.
than 30 years cause she quoted a wrong section in
It said groundwork for this exercise has
her I-T returns against her claim.
Pendency in Indian courts is hardly
been initiated and all the consumer
breaking news, but did you know that The ITAT bench - composed of judicial
commissions have been intimated to
there are more than a lakh cases in member Anikesh Banerjee and vice
identify and prepare a list of cases
district and taluka courts pending for president Pramod Kumar -stated in
where there are chances of settle-
over 30 years? Or that just four states their order that, in this case, a claim
ment and that can be referred to Lok
account for over 90% of these? These for exemption was rightly made, but
Adalat.
include over 67,000 criminal cases and only a wrong section was quoted while
"To have maximum outreach and ben-
more than 33,000 related to civil mat- making such a claim. "This is qualita-
efit consumers, the department is reach-
ters. tively different from making a fresh
ing out to consumers, companies, and
claim during the course of assess-
With 41,210 such cases, Uttar Pradesh
organisations through SMS and emails.
ment," they explained. The members
The department has the phone numbers leads the list and is followed by
of the ITAT held, "The investment that
Maharashtra with 23,483, West Ben-
and emails of three lakh parties whose
the taxpayer has made in the new flat
gal with 14,345 and Bihar with 11,713
cases are pending before the commis-
is much more than the entire sale con-
cases. That's a total of nearly 91,000
sions. It has done a video conferencing
sideration of the tenancy rights.
between just these four states. True,
with the Consumer Commissions which
they are all large states, but they ac- Therefore, whatever be said to be
has more than 200 pending cases," the
ministry said. It is creating a separate link count for only about 42% of India's the nature of the long-term capital
and circulating it amongst all stakehold- population, so it clearly is not just a asset (the original asset that was sold),
ers wherein they can enter their pend- function of size. Odisha (4,248) and the investment of the sale proceeds in
ing case number and commission where Gujarat (2,826) are the only other the house entitles the taxpayer to the
the case is pending and easily refer the states that have over a thousand cases exemption of the long-term capital
matter to Lok Adalat. each pending for over 30 years. gains.
20 | 2022 | NOVEMBER | BANKING FINANCE