Supreme Court disposes of 573 direct tax cases under revised monetary limits

In a major step towards reducing tax litigation, the Supreme Court on September 24 disposed of 573 direct tax cases where the tax effect was less than Rs 5 crore. This move is aligned with the revised monetary thresholds for filing tax appeals, which were introduced in the Union Budget 2024-25.

The Union Budget 2024-25 enhanced the monetary limits for filing appeals related to direct taxes, excise, and service tax in various judicial forums. The limits were raised to Rs 60 lakh for the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Rs 2 crore for the high courts, and Rs 5 crore for the Supreme Court. Following these changes, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had issued the necessary orders to implement these amendments.

“This significant milestone aligns with the government's efforts to reduce tax litigation and promote Ease of Doing Business,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The enhanced thresholds are expected to result in the withdrawal of around 4,300 cases from different judicial forums over time including 700 cases from ITAT, 2,800 cases from high courts and 800 cases from the Supreme Court.