The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has decided to include retired judges in the panel of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) committees for the settlement of tax-related disputes.
The board would revise existing panels of ADR committees in due course of time. According to the decision, the concept of alternative dispute resolution was introduced to avoid unnecessary litigation and hardships faced by traders.
Experience of last two years has called for further improvements in the system. Therefore, a time limit of 45 days, which could be extended by another 45 days for timely finalisation of cases by the ADR committees, has been proposed.
It is proposed that retired judges may also be included in the panel of ADR committees to strengthen them. On the sales tax side, improvements have been proposed in the ADR rules. The concept of ADRC was introduced in the Sales Tax Act, 1990 in 2002 and in Federal Excise Act, 2005 in the budget 2005-06. Based upon past experiences and to harmonise legal provisions relating to ADRC in all revenue statutes, suitable amendments are proposed to be made in section 47A of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and section 38 of the Federal Excise Act, 2005.
Moreover, the wrong title "Alternate" appearing in both Sales Tax Act, 1990 and Federal Excise Act, 2005 may be substituted with the correct word "Alternative".