Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Government withdraws nearly 23,500 tax appeals under higher monetary limits
The government in India handles disagreements between people and the tax department.
Sometimes it disagrees with a court's decision about taxes and wants to appeal to a higher court.
But taking a case to court costs time and money.
So the government made a new rule: it will only appeal cases that involve very large amounts of tax.
Because of this rule, the government stopped fighting nearly 6,000 old appeals.
It also decided not to start more than 17,000 new appeals.
Altogether, about 23,000 tax disputes will not continue in court.
The new limits are Rs 60 lakh for lower tribunals, Rs 2 crore for High Courts, and Rs 5 crore for the Supreme Court.
The government made this change to reduce tax fights and help people get faster answers.
However, this rule does not mean taxes are forgiven — people still owe the taxes the law says they owe.
The government has withdrawn 5,978 income-tax appeals before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), High Courts and the Supreme Court after raising monetary limits for departmental appeals.
Another 17,489 appeals were not filed because the tax effect involved was below the revised limits, bringing the total to 23,467 appeals withdrawn or not pursued.
The revised tax-effect limits are Rs 60 lakh for ITAT, Rs 2 crore for High Courts and Rs 5 crore for the Supreme Court under CBDT Circular No. 9/2024 dated September 17, 2024.
The actual number of withdrawn appeals exceeds the government's earlier estimate that around 4,300 direct-tax cases would be withdrawn.
The CBDT circular provides exceptions so the department can still pursue appeals on merits involving important legal or constitutional issues even when tax effect is below the thresholds.
- Who
- The Government of India's Income Tax Department, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, and taxpayers involved in direct-tax disputes.
- What
- The government withdrew 5,978 income-tax appeals and did not file another 17,489 appeals after raising the monetary limits (tax effect) for departmental appeals at ITAT, High Courts and the Supreme Court.
- When
- Reported in a Rajya Sabha reply on August 4, 2026, reflecting CBDT Circular No. 9/2024 issued on September 17, 2024.
- Where
- India — across the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, High Courts and the Supreme Court.
- Why
- To reduce tax litigation and improve ease of doing business by focusing departmental appeals on higher-value cases and important legal issues.
- Appeals withdrawn
- 5,978
- Appeals not filed
- 17,489
- Total appeals withdrawn or not filed
- 23,467
- New ITAT tax-effect limit
- Rs 60 lakh
- New High Court tax-effect limit
- Rs 2 crore
- New Supreme Court tax-effect limit
- Rs 5 crore
- Governing circular
- CBDT Circular No. 9/2024, dated September 17, 2024
- Disclosed in
- Rajya Sabha reply by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, August 4, 2026