SC to decide fate of ₹20,000-23,000 crore of tax notices dating back 18 years

livemint.com:

₹23,000 crore and hanging fire for 18 years are finally set to have their fate decided by the Supreme Court in a sticky legal battle that will decide whether the Department of Revenue Intelligence has the power to issue such notices. The apex court has begun hearings following a government petition to review its own ruling, delivered in 2021, that clipped the DRI's powers to issue notices. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y.

Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra, has started hearing a review petition filed by the Union government's revenue department seeking these show cause notices to be revalidated. Additional Solicitor General N.

Venkatraman told the court that the case has significant implications for the revenue department, noting that Delhi alone has around 800 of these pending cases, with the list extending across various tribunals. He sought the top court's review of a previous judgment, arguing that it had erred in its assessment and seeking relief for the department. “We need to resolve the fate of 18 years' worth of show-cause notices.

The stakes are difficult to quantify, with the estimated value between ₹20,000 crore and ₹23,000 crore, although we lack complete visibility," said Venkatraman. The case going back to 2006 involves major companies such as Canon, Sony, Samsung, Vodafone Idea, and Adani Enterprises. However, the review petition is around just one ruling, delivered in 2021, where the Supreme Court ruled that the DRI was not the "proper officer" to conduct tax investigations.