8th NANI PALKHIVALA MEMORIAL NATIONAL TAX MOOT COURT COMPETITION 2011

The Moot Court Association of Government Law College in association with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Bar Association and the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP) held the 8th Nani Palkhivala Memorial National Tax Moot Court Competition from  13^th - 15^th October, 2011. The 8th edition of the Competition was dedicated to the 150^th Anniversary of the Bombay High Court and witnessed the top 26 Law Schools across the country battle it out for the top.

 
Shri Nani Palkhivala was born in 1920 in Bombay and studied at the Government Law College. He was called to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Bar Association in 1944 and was a pioneer in the field of taxation. Shri Nani Palkhivala took over as President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Bar Association in 1967. He also served as a professor of Taxation and Constitutional Law at the Government Law College, Mumbai. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) is the second level appellate body looking into the litigation and disputes in tax matters arising from the assessments finalized by the departmental officers who are adjudicated first by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), being the first level appellate authority. The All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP) is a common platform for all those who practice taxation laws, irrespective of their individual affiliations, and it aspires to be a pan-India body of tax practitioners.

The 2011 edition of the Moot Court Competition saw students from 26 prestigious law colleges from all over the country compete in the 3-day event. The Inaugural Ceremony was held on 13th October, 2011 at the Government Law College, in the presence of Hon’ble Mr. R.V. Easwar, President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and Mr. Manmohan Vice President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal who released the souvenir of the 8^th edition of the competition. The Preliminary, Quarter-Final and Semi-Final Rounds of Arguments were held in the courtrooms of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal itself and were judged by Hon'ble Members of the Tribunal and eminent tax professionals like Mr. Porus Kaka, Mr. Vispi Patel, Mr. Atul Jasani, Mr. Pradeep Parikh, Mr. Pradip Kapasi, Mr. Keshav Bhujle, Mr. Hiro Rai amongst others. The Quarter-Final and Semi-Final Rounds as well as the customary trust visit to Nishith Desai Associates’ Nariman Point office was organized in the morning of 15^th October The Final Rounds of the competition were held in the 15th evening 2011 at the Y. B. Chavan Auditorium, Nariman Point which was presided over Hon'ble Mr. Justice Mohit S. Shah, Chief Justice, Bombay High Court, Hon'ble Dr. Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, Judge, Bombay High Court and Hon'ble Mr. Justice R. M. Savant, Judge, Bombay High Court. Addresses were delivered by the three Hon'ble Judges, Dr. K. Shivaram, President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Bar Association, Mr. M. L. Patodi, National President, All India Federation of Tax Practitioners and Mr. R. B. Malik, Principal, Government Law College, Mumbai.

The winner of the 8^th successful edition of this elite competition was National Law School India University, Bangalore and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow came in a close second.

The Best Speaker and the 2nd Best Speaker were awarded to Mr. Karandeep Makkar and Ms. Divya Soni both from the Hiduayatullah National Law University, Raipur. The Best Memorial award went to the team from Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Mr. Dev D. Patel from Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar bagged the Best Researcher award.

In addition to the Moot Court Competition, the Moot Court Association of Government Law College also organized the 7^th Nani Palkhivala Memorial Research Paper Competition on the topic – “Piercing the Corporate Veil in Taxation matters” (Indian & International Transactions with special reference to Direct Taxes Code). The first position was awarded to Vipul Agrawal and Adhitya Srinivasan from National Law Institute University, Bhopal who were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 while the second position was awarded to Nirali Sanghvi and Arunima from Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar who received a cash prize of Rs, 7,500 and the third position was secured by Aayush Agarwal and Aditya Narair Mathur from Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, Delhi who were rewarded with a cash prize of Rs. 5,000. Along with the cash prizes and the medals for the best articles, the winning article was published in the Souvenir of the 8^th Nani Palkhivala Memorial National Tax Moot Court Competition, 2011 & the AIFTP Journal, the IBFD Journal, the ITAT website and other leading tax magazines.