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TMI BlogRegarding measures to streamline the processing of departmental litigation before the Courts and TribunalX X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tions have been issued by the Board, in the past, in this regard prescribing the procedure to be followed and precautions to be taken by the field formations. However, it has been observed that more than 50% of the proposals received by the Board suffer from infirmities including delays beyond limitation period. It has to be appreciated that the Courts take serious note of such procedural infirmities and considerable effort, resource and time go into rectifying them. Further, Courts do not condone delays unless there is adequate justification for the same. The Board has taken a serious note of the matter and it has been decided to fasten accountability wherever SLP/Civil Appeal Proposal is received by the Board without observance of due procedure or with infirmities or later than the prescribed time frame. The field formations are therefore directed to scrupulously follow the instructions contained in this circular. Needless to say that any deviation, without plausible explanation, would be viewed seriously. 2. Delay in receipt of proposals in the Board's office: 2.1 One major cause of concern is delay in receipt of proposals in the Board's office. The reason often cited in mo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l opinion from the Ministry of Law Justice and Ld. Law officers of the Government of India. 2.4. The CA proposals should be sent so as to be received in the Boards office within fifteen days from the receipt of the Order of the Tribunal and SLP proposal are received within twenty days from the date of the order of the High Court. The proposal against the High court's order shall be initiated on the strength of the copy of the order circulated by the Court on its own motion or copy downloaded from the website of the Court i.e www.indiancourts.nic.in or www.courtnic.nic.in without waiting for the certified copy of the order. The certified copy of the order may be sent separately thereafter. It may be noted that in case of CA the period of limitation of 60 days begins from the date of receipt of order. However in case of SLP period of limitation of 90 days begins from the date of order of the High Court. 2.5. All proposals must be sent by the field formations within the prescribed time limits. In case of delay, detailed justification should be furnished and corrective action should be initiated immediately, so that such delays do not occur in future. Delays on flimsy grounds wou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the original proposal, the reason thereof would be furnished and such documents shall be furnished as soon as possible. (ii) The technical literature, court orders, judgments, copies of written submissions as well as material including technical literature which had been furnished to the Tribunal by the assessee at the time of oral submissions may be required for preparation of appeal proposal by the Department. The Joint Chief Departmental Representatives shall ensure that the documents stated above are preserved and sent to the Commissioner concerned immediately after the pronouncement of the order so that the said documents can be made a part of the Paper Book in case it is decided to agitate the matter before the Supreme Court. In case the documents have not been received by the Commissioner at the time of sending the CA proposal to the Board, the same should be procured by the Commissioners from DR's office and send to the Board as soon as possible. 5. Other measures to improve the processing of litigations: 5.1 Grading of cases pending before the Courts is very important for effective monitoring by supervisory officers and, therefore, the Chief Commissioners are adv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on in these journals/ website. 7. Committee on Disputes (COD) matters 7.1 In matters of COD, the instructions issued by the Cabinet Secretariat have been circulated by the Board from time to time. However, it is seen that delayed proposals, incomplete or illegible documents and pages not having been numbered, are being received and commented upon by the Committee on Disputes. The enclosures should be legible and all the documents should be page numbered for ease of reference. Also, all the relevant orders should be enclosed. Further, it is once again reiterated that proposals having revenue implication of 5 lakhs and below need not be sent for approval by the High Powered Committee. 8. The above instructions in brief enumerate the steps/measures being taken or to be taken to improve the mechanism of litigation. The comprehensive instructions in details are contained in Annexures as per details mentioned in para 9 below. Further these instructions cast certain responsibilities on Chief Commissioners, Commissioners and CDR office. Therefore, to ensure compliance of these instructions, a one time report on the points mentioned in Annexure VIII will be furnished by all Zonal Chi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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