Traders, if you have tears shed them now
IT is hell let loose - traders in the country are in for a major attack from the Revenue Departments. If your stay from the Tribunal is more than one year old, you are in trouble. The stay is automatically vacated - the Tribunal cannot extend the stay and the Department can recover the demand by attachment of property, bank accounts, dues from customers etc. The law says that if the Tribunal could not decide your case within one year and even if you are in no way responsible for the delay, the stay is vacated and that means recovery proceedings are initiated.
No civilised country would perhaps have such draconian laws. Draconian laws survive not because of the tyranny of the rulers, but because of the meek acceptance of the victim subjects. This dangerous provision has been in the Statute for more than a decade - nobody took it seriously, as Tribunal Benches were fair and just in giving stay and now if it is held that the Tribunal had no business or rather the power to give stay beyond 365 days, the Indian Business is doomed. Unfortunately all our economics pundits do not know such minor details and even the trade and industry associations never bother to highlight such trivial issues. Even though we are warned, usually we don't bother until the tiger is at our doorstep. NOW IT IS!
Now, the trade and industry should forget all other issues and concentrate on this single issue. Get this draconian, illogical and lethal provision removed from the statute. Mr. Arun Jaitley is a learned lawyer and he would certainly understand this issue, if explained to him properly. The Revenue Department which brought in this provision will certainly try to convince him about its justification - the trade should be able to convince him better. If you do not act at least now, this provision would get legal and judicial approval and then it will be impossible to do business in India.
What is the logic of a one year stay ? Why should a stay be given only for 365 days and not beyond. It is known that Departmental officers routinely, with hardly any respect for Law, Courts or even their Boards confirm huge demands which will not survive judicial scrutiny. Even in such cases, after one year, the assessee has to pay up the entire demand which is sure to be set aside later. Where will the businessmen get such huge amounts of money to deposit such demands?
And why are the cases not decided? The Government does not create enough Benches of the Tribunal and in the existing Benches they don't post Members. If the Government is serious about disposing of cases, let them establish a Tribunal Bench in every district and let the case be decided within a week. More than one lakh cases are pending in the CESTAT and the Government wants to punish the assessees for that. Even a child would know that this is unjust, unfair and outrageous, but for the Revenue babu, this is perfectly legal. If you can appoint a few Revenue officers in our Missions abroad to publicise these laws, they can ensure that no foreign investor would ever step into India.
Don't depend on hope - hop into North Block and convince the FM that such draconian provisions do not deserve to find a place in the Statutes of a civilised country.