Centre Approves Appointment of 16 New Members to ITAT

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has officially approved the induction of 16 new members to the Income TaxAppellate Tribunal (ITAT), the nation’s quasi-judicial body responsible for resolving direct tax disputes.

The appointments, which follow the recommendations of the high-level Search-cum-Selection Committee, include a mix of legal professionals for the Judicial Member posts and tax experts for the Accountant Member positions.

According to an official order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the new appointees will fill crucial vacancies in various benches of the ITAT.

Specifically, the ACC approved the appointment of Six Judicial Members and Ten Accountant Members, totaling 16 new inductees. These individuals will hold office in the prescribed pay scale and will serve a tenure of four years from the date they assume office, or until they attain the age of 67 years, whichever event occurs earlier.

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The selected candidates for the Judicial Member posts include distinguished advocates and legal professionals, while the Accountant Members are experienced Chartered Accountants and retired officers of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).

In related administrative actions, the Committee also formally accepted the resignation of a Judicial Member, and notably, cancelled two earlier appointments (one Accountant Member and one Judicial Member).

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The cancelled appointees have also been debarred for a period of three years from being considered for appointments in any statutory or autonomous bodies, excluding their parent organizations.

The induction of these 16 new members is expected to enhance the functioning and efficiency of the ITAT in delivering timely justice in the complex field of direct tax litigation.

As per the website “ITAT is a quasi judicial institution set up in January, 1941 and specializes in dealing with appeals under the Direct Taxes Acts. The orders passed by the ITAT are final, an appeal lies to the High Court only if a substantial question of law arises for determination”.

Currently, ITAT has 63 Benches at 27 different stations covering almost all the cities having a seat of the High Court.

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