The Hindustan Times has carried the following press report today (23.01.2012)

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Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia has asked the government to take “appropriate action” against at least 20 members of the country’s top income tax tribunal who are on the CBI’s radar for having allegedly ‘outsourced’ writing of judgments to private parties.

 

Justice Kapadia is understood to have conveyed his displeasure to law minister Salman Khurshid over inaction on the issue since 2008, HT has learnt. Khurshid met the CJI earlier this month.

 

The meeting was followed up by justice Kapadia writing to Khurshid on January 5, reminding the minister about his communication with the ministry in February last year.

 

Following justice Kapadia’s letter, Khurshid has directed the legal affairs department “to expedite the matter”.
The CBI has been seeking sanction from the ministry since 2008 to register a preliminary inquiry against at least 20 members of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal posted in different parts of the country.

 

The agency alleged that these members had outsourced writing of judgments to private parties to favour them.
Khurshid told the Rajya Sabha on January 12, “The matter is under consideration in consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission.”

 

The law ministry, which has administrative control over the tribunal, recently granted sanction to the CBI to file a chargesheet in a Kolkata court against suspended tribunal member Jugal Kishore and five others. But it hasn’t responded to the agency’s request for a probe against other members pending for more than three years.

 

Following a tip-off, the CBI in May 2008 recovered R28 lakh from Kishore’s Kolkata residence. A chartered accountancy firm allegedly paid the amount to him.

 

Subsequently, the CBI seized computers from the firm and scrutiny of discs led to retrieval of 75 documents that showed striking similarities with 69 orders passed by the tribunal’s benches in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati.

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In pursuance of the consultations of the collegium of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal consisting of the President and two senior-most Vice-Presidents, the following Members of the Tribunal are hereby transferred in public interest in the same capacity, to the Bench/es of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal as shown against their names with effect from 06.02.2012.

We wish the Hon’ble Members good luck in their new postings.

Vide Order No. 17 of 2012 dated 19.01.2012 the CBDT has stated that three IRS officers have been selected as Accountant Members of the Tribunal and that their services are placed at the disposal of the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice, with effect from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders

C. L. Sethi

We deeply regret to announce the tragic and untimely demise of Hon’ble Shri Chiranjilal Sethi, Judicial Member, posted in Delhi, on 1.1.2012. Shri. C. L. Sethi was a true Gentlemen and delivered many land mark judgments such as DLF Universal Ltd. vs. DCIT 123 ITD 1 (Del.) (SB), JCIT vs. Poddar Projects Ltd 88 ITD 247 (Cal)(SB), Peer Less Securities Ltd. vs. JCIT 95 ITD 89 (Cal.)(SB) etc. Shri. Sethi was known for his simplicity, knowledge and integrity. His conduct on and off the Bench was impeccable.

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Bar Association, Mumbai, conveys its heartfelt condolences to the members of Shri. Sethi’s family and prays to God to grant eternal peace to the departed soul, strength and courage to his family members to bear this great loss. May his soul rest in peace.

The List of Holidays of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in the year 2012 is available

A Full Court Farewell Function was held on 14.10.2011 to honour the elevation of Shri. R. V. Easwar, the then President of the Tribunal, as Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court. This is the first time in the history of the Tribunal that such a farewell tribute was given to any Member on his elevation as Judge.

Speech of  Shri. G. E. Veerabhadrappa,  President

Good Morning everybody, Mr. Easwar, President of the ITAT, Mr. D.Manmohan, Vice President, Mumbai Zone and my other colleagues, distinguished Members of the Bar, Chartered Accountants and Ex-Members and ladies and gentlemen

It is indeed a great pleasure to be part of this function wherein we are giving Full Court Reference and farewell to Shri R.V. Easwar, President of the Tribunal. It is glad that Shri R.V. Easwar is elevated as the Judge of the Delhi High Court and it is ours as if we feel all of us are invited. It is a great thing that has happened in the recent past. Mr. Easwar I am sure will make a mark and we are sure you did a lot to the institution and to the tax literature. As you all know Mr. Easwar is both Chartered Accountant and also an Advocate. He came from a very rural background the place Tuticorn in Tamilnadu.

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A Full Court reference was held on 11.10.2011 to mourn the tragic demise of Shri. T. V. Rajagopala Rao, the former President of the Tribunal. All Legal Luminaries gathered to pay rich tribute to Shri. Rajagopala Rao for his stellar contribution to the cause of justice.

Speech of Shri R V Easwar, President

Dr Shivaram, the President of the ITAT Bar Association, Mumbai, members of the ITAT Bar Association, members of the accountancy profession, officers of the IRS and my esteemed colleagues in the Mumbai Benches of the ITAT:

It is with great sorrow that I convey to you the news of the passing on of Shri T V Rajagopala Rao, former President of the ITAT in Hyderabad on the 9th October, after a brief period in hospital. He was ailing for quite some time and was confined to his house and wheel-chair bound. Even during his tenure in the Tribunal, particularly after he became President thereof, he was not blessed with the best of health. But he went about his work undaunted by the physical ailments.

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The International Tax Review has paid rich tribute to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal calling it one of the 50 biggest influences in tax. It noted that Hon’ble Shri. G. E. Veerabhadrappa was recently appointed President of the Tribunal.

The Tribute came on the strength of the recognition that the “ITAT has released countless rulings on the treatment of transfer pricing in India, with more than 100 rulings in transfer pricing this year alone“.

What came as a pleasant surprise was the compliment paid by the prestigious journal that the ITAT “stands as a major influence in the approach to the practice, with tax payers all over the world using the numerous decisions as bench marks for their own documentation and transfer pricing strategy“.

The Journal identified four landmark judgements which it called “influential cases“. These were Gem Plus India Pvt Ltd vs ACIT 330 ITR 175, Abhishek Auto Industries Ltd vs DCIT 50 DTR 257, Cheil Communications 48 DTR 289 and Serdia Pharmaceuticals (India) Pvt Ltd v ACIT 50 DTR 98 (Mum)

Sharing the tribute with the Tribunal for the position of “The 50 biggest influences in tax” is Hon’ble S. H. Kapadia, Chief Justice of India. Chief Justice Kapadia’s judgements in Morgan Stanley 292 ITR 416 (transfer pricing), GE India Technology (s. 195 TDS), Enron Oil & Gas (production sharing contracts) & Walfort Stocks & Shares 326 ITR 1 (dividend stripping) were hailed as having “gone a long way in clarifying the law“.

The International Tax Review also complimented the Chief Justice for the “clarity & simplicity” of his judgements and his approach in adopting a “more holistic approach to taxation“. It was also noted that the expected verdict by the Chief Justice’s Bench in the Vodafone International case will be the “first case of its kind anywhere in the world” and that “it is likely to lay down a marker for revenue authorities and tax practitioners everywhere on the taxation” of off-shore mergers and acquisitions.

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Bar Association
C/o. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal
Old CGO Building, Fourth Floor, Room No. 445,
Maharshi Karve Marg, Mumbai – 400 020.
Tel.: 2205 5138 Fax: 2203 6119. Website: www.itatonline.org.
E-mail: manager@itatonline.org

1st November,201l

Dear Member,

The Rules Committee of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal intends to suggest amendments to the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal Rules, 1963. For this, views and suggestions from our Association have been sought. We therefore, request members to send their views and suggestions on any aspect of the Rules, on or before 14.11.2011.

For ITAT Bar Association
Hiro Rai & Vipul Joshi
Honorary Secretaries

We are pleased to announce that Hon’ble Shri. G. E. Veerabhadrappa has been appointed the officiating President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal with effect from 14.10.2011.

Shri Veerabhadrappa is a Chartered Accountant and has practiced for nearly 15 years before joining the Tribunal 16.8.1990. He was elevated to the post of Vice President on 7.1.2005.

Shri Veerabhadrappa has rich administrative experience in the working of the Tribunal, having been posted in diverse locations such as Indore, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi. He has been a party to several landmark judgement such as DCIT vs. Oman International Bank 100 ITD 285 (SB), Concept Creations vs. ACIT 120 ITR 19 (Del) (SB), Y. Subbaraju vs. ACIT 91 ITD 118 (Bang) (SB) etc.

We wish Shri Veerabhadrappa good luck in his new posting