CESTAT PENDENCY - INTERESTING FACTS
As on 1st July 2005, there are 33624 cases pending in the CESTAT with Mumbai Bench contributing to more than 50% at 17533 cases pending. While there are about 5000 cases each pending in Delhi and Chennai, the least pendency is in Kolkotta with 2227 cases while Bangalore has a pendency of 3459. 118 cases are more than ten years old while the oldest case pending relates the year 1988 – a good seventeen years old.
There are 780 Service Tax cases pending in various benches of the Tribunal and 4628 stay applications pending.
There are four posts of Members lying vacant against the sanctioned strength of 21 and this is a good 20%. Departmental officers on the verge of retirement selected for appointment as member of the Tribunal are not prepared to sacrifice the frills of office till the last day and will join the Tribunal only a few days before their retirement from Service. May be; the maximum age for appointment as member should be 55 so that a member will have seven years service as a member and not two years now. This will attract better and younger officers to the Tribunal instead of it being seen as a parking lot for retiring officers.
May be if these vacancies are immediately filled and four more posts are created, the entire pendency can be cleared in less than a year and then we can have the ideal situation of Tribunal orders coming within six months of appeal. In the department, they have created so many posts of Commissioners (Appeals), that many of these Commissioners hardly have any appeals to decide. Should there be a problem in filling up the vacancies in the Tribunal and adding a few more posts?