The department claimed that the “escaped” income by the congress party amounted to over ₹520 crore.
The Delhi High Court delivered a verdict on Friday, rejecting the Congress party plea challenging the Income Tax (IT) department’s move to initiate reassessment proceedings against the party. Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav pronounced the decision, stating, “We dismiss the writ petitions.”
The high court had earlier reserved its order on March 20 concerning the pleas filed by Congress party against the tax reassessment proceedings for the assessment years 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17.
Representing the Congress party, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi argued that the tax reassessment proceedings were time-barred, emphasizing that the IT department could only go back a maximum of six assessment years.
Contrary to this, the IT department contended that there was no violation of statutory provisions on their part. According to the material recovered, the department claimed that the “escaped” income by the party amounted to over ₹520 crore.
The court’s ruling came a day after the Congress party conducted a press conference, accusing the Narendra Modi government of financially hampering the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
In a notable appearance at the press conference with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi addressed the seriousness of the issue, stating it affects not only the Congress but also “impacts our democracy itself most fundamentally.”
Sonia Gandhi remarked, “A systematic effort is underway by the prime minister to cripple the Indian National Congress financially. Funds collected from the public are being frozen, and money from our accounts is being taken away forcibly.”
She added, “Even under these most challenging circumstances, we are doing our best to maintain the effectiveness of our election campaign.”
However, as per a PTI report, the I-T department has not frozen the Congress party bank accounts. Instead, they have made a recovery of ₹135 crore due to alleged violations of laws granting political parties tax exemptions. The party remains free to operate these accounts beyond the recovered amount, PTI reported citing official sources.
To Access the CBDT Notification 33/2024 CLICK HERE
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CBDT Notification 34/2024: Corrigendum to Notification 27/2024 Dated 5 March 2024