Revision of monetary limits for filing of appeals by the Department before Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and High Courts and SLP before Supreme Court - measures for reducing litigation

Monetary limits for departmental appeals revised; appeals now only when tax effect exceeds prescribed thresholds, with defined exceptions.

Appeals in income-tax matters should be filed only when the tax effect of disputed issues exceeds prescribed monetary thresholds; tax effect means the difference between tax on assessed total income and tax that would have been chargeable had disputed income been excluded, excluding interest except where interest is in dispute. Assessing Officers must compute tax effect separately for each assessment year; appeals may be lodged only for years where the tax effect exceeds limits, with composite-order and multiple-assessee rules requiring consolidated treatment. Commissioners must record non-filing due solely to monetary limits, and specified categories of adverse decisions must be contested irrespective of tax effect. The instruction applies retrospectively to pending appeals before High Courts and Tribunals.