IT tribunal dismisses Congress' plea against action by tax authorities
Party leaders said that the tribunal dismissed the appeal of the Congress against the imposition of penalties by the Income Tax department
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on Friday dismissed the Congress’s appeal against action by tax authorities over alleged discrepancies in tax returns that the party says has crippled its functioning just weeks ahead of general elections.
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Party leaders said that the tribunal dismissed the appeal of the Congress against the imposition of penalties by the Income Tax department. Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said the party was exploring all legal options and would move the high court “very soon”. He also accused the BJP government of “deliberately choosing the timing of this to coincide with national elections”.
The party had also appealed to ITAT to stall the lien amount of ₹115 crore for 10 days as it would appeal in the high court, but that too, was turned down, said Congress leaders.
IT authorities have attached ₹65 crore from five bank accounts of the Congress and its youth and students’ wings against the lien of ₹115 crore placed by the tax department on the party’s accounts in a case related to a delay in filing IT returns for assessment year (AY) 2018-19.
A lien is a sort of a hold on an amount that is owed. In this case, the lien was put through two letters sent by the department to the managers of Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India last month.
Maken said the tribunal order was “an attack on democracy” as it had come just ahead of national elections and has left the principal opposition party without funds to contest the polls. He added that the party was now left with “negligible” funds to spend during Lok Sabha elections or for its day-to-day functioning.
Maken also alleged that the BJP or any other national political party had never paid any income tax penalty. “Then why single out the Congress?” he asked.
Confirming the order, Congress’s legal cell head Vivek Tankha said the tribunal had not followed its own past precedents and the party will approach the high court soon.
“We are disappointed with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal order. We will be moving the high court very soon. They have not followed their own past precedents in granting relief on payment of 20 percent penalty and that too to a national party which is now on the verge of contesting national elections, which is going to be notified soon,” Tankha told PTI.
Registered political parties are exempted from paying tax on specified income such as voluntary contributions, house property, income from other sources and capital gains, under section 13A of the Income Tax Act, but they have to file IT returns annually.
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Tax officials say the case pertains to the Congress’s tax dues of assessment year (AY) 2018-19. The initial due to the tax department was ₹103 crore, and ₹32 crore was added to this on account of interest. The tax due was reassessed at ₹105 crore on July 6, 2021.
After this, the tax officials said, the Congress appealed before the Commissioner, Appeals but did not pay the mandatory 20% of the tax due to initiate the appeal. It paid only ₹78 lakh, prompting the commissioner to dismiss the plea. The Congress, the officials added, then appealed Commissioner, Appeals again in May 2023, and in October, paid ₹1.72 crore. They pointed out that the Congress has not applied for any stay on the tax demand in its appeal.
The Congress showed around ₹198 crore as revenue in 2018-19 and ₹197 crore as expenditure. Terming the tax demand as disproportionate, the party has said that the case related to a delay of 45 days in filing its income tax return (ITR) in FY18-19 and an alleged cash collection of ₹14 lakhs from its MPs and MLAs — their one month’s salary.
(with PTI inputs)