Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the state-of-the art-office cum residential complex of Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal- ITAT in Cuttack, Odisha.Cuttack’s ITAT has been functioning from rented premises since 1970 which is almost 50 years, and has jurisdiction for appeals arising from Odisha state.With the inauguration of the new complex, the Cuttack bench of ITAT will be able to provide modern tax services to not just to the citizens of Odisha but also the other parts of Northeast and East India.

Significance:

The inauguration of the ITAT complex will be helping the ITAT Cuttack bench in imparting justice to the needy.

The e-court facility will also be provided in the new complex with a good connectivity facility. The ITAT Cuttack bench will be able to hear and dispose of even those appeals that have been pending with Kolkata Zone’s other benches which are currently non-functional such as Patna, Ranchi, and Guwahati.

Details of the new ITAT Complex:

• The newly built complex is spread over an area of 1.60 acres of land which was allotted by the Odisha Government free of cost in 2015.

•  The total built-up of the complex is 1,938 sq meters.

•  It has over three floors including, the ultra-modern record room, spacious courtroom, library room, well-equipped chambers for the Members of the Bench, well-equipped modern conference hall along with sufficient space for litigants, bar rooms for Chartered Accountants, lawyers, etc.

•  The new e-filing portal has also been ready which facilitates e-filings of documents, appeals, and other applications by litigants.

•  Physical notice boards have been replaced by digital screens displaying the cause list, constitution of benches, and other information.

•  E-office workplace solutions have also been implemented in the new complex.

Performance of ITAT during COVID-19:

•  During the COVID-19 pandemic, ITAT has set up virtual court at all the benches across India.

•  It has been effectively using the facilities of conducting virtual hearings during the lockdown period due to pandemic.

•  During this time period, ITAT disposed of 7,251 cases against 3,778 cases filed.

•  ITAT has also been making extensive use of technology to make justice more accessible to the citizens.

About Income- Tax Appellate Tribunal:

It is a quasi-judicial institution which was set up in 1941. ITAT specializes in dealing with appeals under the Direct Taxes Acts.

ITAT started in 1941 with six members and constituted of three benches- one each at Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai. As the number of benches increased, currently there are 63 benches at 27 different stations that cover all the cities in the country having a seat of the High Court.