New Delhi: Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today launched the e-filing portal of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), ‘itat e-dwar’, today. He stated that data about more than 18 crore cases are available in the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) and suggested that cases of ITAT should also be integrated in the NJDG.
On this occasion, a virtual function was organized at the national level which was attended by the functionaries of ITAT from all the 28 stations. The members of various Bar Associations also joined the virtual function. It was also attended by the Officers of the Income Tax Department, Chartered Accountants, Taxpayers and other legal luminaries in the field of tax, from across the country. Prasad expressed hope that ‘itat e-dwar’ will be widely accepted by the lawyers and tax litigants alike.
Justice P.P. Bhatt, President of ITAT, on this occasion, informed the gathering that the launch of e-Filing Portal ‘itat e-dwar’ will enhance the accessibility, accountability and transparency in the day to day working of the ITAT. It would not only result in economization of the use of paper, savings in costs but also rationalization of the fixation of cases leading to quicker disposal of cases. On this occasion, Justice Bhatt also announced a plan to set up paperless courts in the ITAT with a pilot project being undertaken at Delhi Benches of ITAT.
It was also informed that even during the period of Pandemic, by using the tools of information and communication technology, various benches of ITAT have functioned and kept up its activity of judicial dispensation. It was revealed that inspite of the restricted functioning of Benches, the adoption of Video Conferencing has brought down the pendency of cases to about 64,500 as against 88,000 on April 1, 2020.
The newly developed e-Filing Portal would enable the parties to file their Appeals, Miscellaneous Applications, documents, paper books, electronically.
– global bihari bureau
