Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

Subject – Government bodies

Context – NCLT, ITAT get new members

Concept –

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) is a quasi-judicial institution set up in 1941under section 5A of the Income Tax Act, 1922.
Initially, it had three Benches at Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta) and Mumbai (Bombay).
But presently ITAT has 63 Benches at 27 different stations covering almost all the cities having a seat of the High Court.
ITAT is referred to as ‘Mother Tribunal’ being the oldest Tribunal in the country.
India’s Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) was set up on 25 January 1941, and it was the first experiment in tribunalization in the history of India.
It is second appellate authority under the direct taxes and first independent forum in its appellate hierarchy.
The orders passed by the ITAT can be subjected to appellate challenge, on substantial questions of law, before the respective High Court.
With a view to ensure highest degree of independence of the ITAT, it functions under the Department of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Law and Justice, and is kept away from any kind of control by the Ministry of Finance.