CAAS Surat Approaches SC to Address Issues in 44,776 Appeals & ITAT Vacancies | Biz Flow Kit
The Chartered Accountants Association of Surat (CAAS) has submitted a plea to the SC, pursuing intervention about several crucial issues. This contains the backlog of IT appeals pending before the judiciary, concerns related to vacancies, and the excessive load set on the existing bars.
The CA association on April 15, 2026, has submitted a request to support the case of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).
The issue from the association was that, even though new tribunal members have been officially approved, they have not yet been assigned to their positions. This administrative delay has formed a severe backlog of cases, which causes real issues for taxpayers who are waiting for their appeals to get resolved.
Under the reports, the association mentioned that all across the country, 44,776 appeals are currently waiting to be heard before the income tax appellate tribunals. As a single bench is struggling with 2,026 pending appeals, the situation in Surat is censorious.
The same number is approximately three times the national average for a single bench, citing an unjust and overwhelming workload. Due to this, CAAS is requesting the creation of a regular, second ITAT bench in Surat to clear the heavy volume of cases.
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“The matter is already under consideration of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, which has recently emphasised the need to ensure continuity and functionality of tribunals and is monitoring the issue periodically”, cited the association body, mentioning that CAAS has given ground-level information and practitioner insights before the Court to assist in the adjudication of the issue.
CAAS requested that the Court ensure future appointments are properly managed and that authorised members are placed in their positions immediately. They also suggested distributing members according to the areas with the largest backlogs, focusing on improving overburdened regions and establishing a regular operation for the second Surat bench.
