The Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs vide Bill No. 19 of 2021, introduced ‘The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2021’ (“The Bill”) in the Lok Sabha on February 13, 2021, to amend certain provisions of Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Copyrights Act, 1957, the Customs Act, 1962, the Patents Act, 1970, the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994, the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002 and the Finance Act, 2017 with a view to abolish some tribunals and authorities and to provide a mechanism for filing appeal directly to the commercial court or the High Court, instead of the tribunals.
The Bill proposes, the transfer of all cases pending before such tribunals or authorities and the jurisdiction exercised by them to the Commercial Court or the High Court, as the case may be, on the appointed date.
Severance Term: The Chairman and Members of such tribunals shall cease to hold office and they will be entitled to claim compensation not exceeding 3 months’ pay and allowances for the premature termination of term of their office or of any contract of service.
The Bill has purposed and considered necessary to reduce the number of tribunals, addressing the issue of shortage of supporting staff of tribunals and infrastructure, that will be beneficial to the public at large, to further save considerable expense to the exchequer and at the same time, lead to speedy delivery of justice.
The Bill can be accessed at: http://www.a2ztaxcorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Tribunal-Bill.pdf