The Need for a National Tax Tribunal Reviewing the National Tax Tribunal Act, 2005

Abstract

With the intricacy that the taxation laws of India presents and the overburdening of the High Courts, there was a need for a specialized tribunal to hear over matters pertaining to tax disputes. Due to this the National Tax Tribunal Act, 2005 was established by the Parliament under Article 323B of the Constitution of India with effect from December 28, 2005 and the National Tax Tribunal was created. However, the NTT Act has caused a lot of controversy and was eventually repealed for being an obsolete law by the Law Commission in its Two Hundred Forty-Eighth Report. While the Act has now been rendered invalid and is out of operation, there is a need for a tribunal such as the NTT for the effective redressal of tax disputes. This paper will deal with the controversial provisions of the NTT Act and suggest improvements/recommendations in the enactment to allow it to reconcile with the existing rule of law in India.