Tax Appellate Tribunal
Taxes Appellate Tribunal is the highest Judicial authority in determining the factual point of income tax cases. According to section 2(5), ‘Appellate Tribunal’ means the Taxes Appellate Tribunal established under section 11. As per section 3, it is not a part of income tax authority. But in the case of law point, the appellant can go with a reference application to the honorable High Court against the order of the Tribunal. But in order to facilitate the aggrieved assessee and the DCT (Deputy Commissioner of Taxes) with allowing them to file an appeal against the order of an Appellate Joint Commissioner or the Commissioner; the government forms the ‘Taxes Appellate Tribunal’ under section 11 of ITO, 1984 as a judicial body.
Qualifications to be a member: As per section 11(3), a person shall not be appointed as a member of the Taxes Appellate Tribunal unless –
- he was or is a member of the Board or holds the current charge of a member of the Board
- he was a Commissioner of Taxes
- he is a Commissioner of Taxes
- he is a chartered accountant and practiced professionally for a period not less than eight years
- he is a cost and management accountant and practiced professionally for a period not less than eight years
- he is an income tax practitioner within the meaning of section 174(2) and practices professionally for not less than twenty years
- he is a professional legislative expert having not less than eight years experience in the process of drafting and making financial and tax laws.
