Justice Bhuyan Calls For Simpler Tax Laws And Timely Adjudication

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Judge, Supreme Court of India, today officially released the 13th edition of the Sampath Iyengar's 'Law of Income Tax'. The legal and tax community gathered in Delhi on July 25, 2025, to celebrate the release of commentary.In his address, Justice Bhuyan reflected on his journey with tax law, starting as a cautious junior standing counsel in 1995. He remembered that the journey started not with deep expertise, but with a willingness to learn. Freshly appointed as Junior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department, he had little more than a law school paper on tax law to fall back on. When a senior official bluntly asked if he could handle the work, Justice Bhuyan simply said, “I'll try and give my best.” That set the tone for what became a fulfilling legal journey. From nervously walking into the chamber of his senior, Shri G.K. Joshi—who turned out to be warm and encouraging—to receiving a letter years later from the CBDT praising his legal opinion as one of the best, Justice Bhuyan recalled that his growth was steady and heartfelt. He built relationships across the aisle, argued fiercely yet respectfully, and eventually found himself not just practicing tax law but shaping it from the Bench. Justice Bhuyan also mentioned an interesting anecdote from the past about a copyright battle over Income Tax writings between the two giants of the field- A.C. Sampath Iyengar and Nani Palkhivala. Nani Palkhivala decided to write a book on income tax beck in 1946, a time when there were only a few authoritative commentaries available including Iyengar's. After three years, Palkhivala was able to finish writing his work with his senior partner, Sir Jamshedji Kanga playing a guiding role. The book titled The Law and Practice of Income Tax, would go on to become a classic. Interestingly when Iyengar happened to read the book, he believed a large part of it contained his work copied. He went on to file a suit before the Madras High Court accusing Kanga and Palkhivala of copyright infringement. Justice Bhuyan mentioned that during the course of the hearing, Palkhivala was subjected to extensive cross-examination. On oath he swore that though he had referred to the commentary of Iyengar while arguing his cases, but he did not keep it before him while writing his book. Ultimately, the Judge held that there was no proof of copying and dismissed the suit. The judge observed that Sampath Iyengar was overtaken by emotion and that his suit was an ill- advised litigation.Justice Bhuyan said, “Both Sampath Iyengar's Law of Income Tax and Kanga and Palkhivala's The Law and Practice of Income Tax have continued their journey parallelly, holding their own. Both are great works, products of extra-ordinary scholarship and hard work. For that the authors, editors and publishers deserve our praise.”Further Justice Bhuyan underscored the importance of Iyengar's work, saying, “Sampath Iyengar's commentary on tax laws has greatly influenced the landscape of income tax literature by establishing itself as an exhaustive and reliable source. It is indeed a significant authority”.Justice Bhuyan also took the opportunity to address broader issues surrounding the Indian Tax system. He emphasized that taxation is an important source of revenue for a nation. “It is the price that we pay for our civilization. For a taxable person, whether he likes it or not, he has to pay the tax either directly, for example, as a tax on income, or indirectly, on the purchase of goods and services.” He stated that “The authorisation made by the statute to levy a tax must be express. There cannot be impost of tax by implication”.Referring to recent data of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, he said that it suggests that there has been an increase in tax litigation in the country, which has not only led to blockage of considerable amounts of revenue but has also clogged our adjudicatory system. As of June 31, 2024, as many as 5,44,205 appeals were pending before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) and 63,246 pending before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunals, High Courts and the Supreme Court. This is significant because piling up of tax cases is not just about numbers. It affects people and their business, adversely impacting economic activity and our adjudicatory process.Appreciating the success story of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Justice Bhuyan said, “When we make an audit of the success or otherwise of tribunalisation in India, the one tribunal which everyone agrees is a success story is the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. Therefore, assesses in large numbers filing appeals and contesting revenue demands before the highest fact finding body is indicative of the robustness and vibrancy of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunals”. However, putting a caveat, he said, “Because of high pendency of appeals before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunals, there is delay in disposal of the appeals which has also contributed to the mounting...

Justice Bhuyan Calls For Simpler Tax Laws And Timely Adjudication

Urvashi Chauhan

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