Calling it the biggest litigant in the entire Government, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today asked the Income Tax Department to reexamine the way it handles tax disputes.
Speaking at the 150th anniversary of the Income Tax in India, the Finance Minister also exuded confidence that direct tax collections, hit by the global financial crisis in the last two fiscals, will regain its pre-cisis collection with the economy poised to grow by 8.5 per cent this fiscal, nine per cent the following year and double digits thereafter.
“One area of concern is litigation with taxpayers. The Department is filing appeals in a routine manner without careful thought and examination leading to the Department earning the dubious distinction of being the biggest litigant in the Government of India,” Mukherjee said