Patna, Nov. 27: Commercial Taxes Tribunal, Patna, has been non-functional for past one-and-a-half months in the absence of its chairman and a member (accounts), leading to piling up of cases relating to tax disputes.

This has adversely affected the traders who approach the tribunal in appeal against the orders passed by the commercial taxes department commissioner and all appellate joint commissioners in divisional headquarters.

The tribunal, which started functioning in 1969, has not been functioning since October 3 this year, following the transfer of the then chairman N.N. Ojha as district and sessions judge, Samastipur.

The tax tribunal comprises three members — an officer from judicial service who is also the tribunal chairman, an officer of the rank of deputy accountant-general in the CAG office and a commercial tax department officer. While the posts of chairman and member (accounts) are vacant, Jawahar Choudhary, the third member (from commercial taxes department), will retire on January 31, 2012.

“Non-functioning of the tribunal is adversely affecting the traders. We will request deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also heads commercial taxes department, to make the appointment of the chairman and member (accounts) as soon as possible so that the tribunal can function smoothly,” Commercial Taxes Tribunal Association general secretary Ravindra Prasad said.

The tribunal can function in the absence of one member if the chairman and another member are present. But it cannot function in the absence of the chairman, who is a judicial member, either a retired high court judge or a serving district and sessions judge.

Modi told The Telegraph that the tribunal’s chairman has to be appointed by the high court as the person has to be a district judge or a retired high court judge. “We have requested the high court to appoint the chairman of the tribunal. As far as the appointment of other member (accounts) is concerned, we have already conducted the interview and the appointment would be made very soon.”

“The significance of hearings at the tribunal can be gauged from the fact that there are about 2,500 cases pending for disposal, involving around Rs 3,000 crore,” Prasad said adding that the tribunal hears cases relating to various tax matters like central and state governments’ sales tax, Bihar value added tax, entry tax, entertainment tax, electricity duty and others.

It is not the first time that work is stalled at the tribunal in the absence of the chairman. Prasad said there have been earlier instances when the tribunal ceased to function and the state government constituted it again only after the orders of the high court.

Asked what would be the impact on the traders if the tribunal is not constituted at the earliest, Prasad said: “A party can approach the high court directly under writ jurisdiction against the order of the commissioner, commercial tax, but it would take time and would be expensive. If the same appeal is filed in the tribunal, the matter would be heard expeditiously.”