Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday called upon the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to take concerted action to reduce the high number of pending tax appeals. While a lot of work has been done to reduce litigation and simplify processes for the taxpayer, much more needs to be done, she said. “Total pendency declined by over 34,000 cases to now 5.4 lakh appeals. No good,” Sitharaman said. “I would have thought the pending appeals would have come down to less than 1 lakh. We still have 5.4 lakh appeals,” the minister said at an event commemorating the 167th Income Tax Day here.