Suparshva Swabs (I) Vs National Faceless Appeal Centre & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court has raised concerns over the significant delay in disposing of tax appeals before the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), directing that a long-pending appeal filed by Suparshva Swabs (I) on October 14, 2022, be resolved within eight weeks. The ruling came in response to a writ petition seeking time-bound resolution of appeals, along with guidelines to prevent taxpayer harassment and potential compensatory costs for excessive delays.
The NFAC, set up to ensure swift and transparent resolution of tax appeals, has accumulated a backlog of over 5.49 lakh appeals, as acknowledged by government counsel Sunil Agarwal during the hearing. The Central Action Plan 2024-25 outlines a roadmap to clear these appeals, which the court has taken on record. However, the Delhi HC expressed concern that despite the NFAC’s objective, cases like the petitioner’s remain unresolved for over two years, defeating the purpose of the faceless adjudication framework.
Judicial precedents emphasize the right to a timely appeal resolution as a fundamental aspect of tax administration. In Vodafone Idea Ltd. v. DCIT (Bombay HC, 2021) and Shravan Gupta v. CIT (Delhi HC, 2022), courts underscored that undue delays in tax adjudication violate the principle of fairness under Article 14 of the Constitution. The Delhi HC’s present ruling aligns with these precedents, reinforcing the obligation of tax authorities to ensure timely case disposal.
