The Congress party’s claims of ‘tax terrorism’ against central agencies are baseless, a report published on NDTV which cited government sources said. The sources assert that the ongoing assessment proceedings stem from seized incriminating material, as these would have become time-barred on March 31 of this year.
According to the report, the Congress was well aware of these proceedings and was provided with ample time to respond, including during hearings in the Delhi High Court where the party’s plea was denied relief.
Earlier alleging that its bank accounts were frozen due to a ₹200 crore penalty from Income Tax authorities, Congress announced on Friday receiving a fresh tax notice amounting to ₹1,800 crore. This notice covers the assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21 (financial years 2016-17 to 2019-20), including penalty and interest.
Officials revealed that income tax searches in April 2019 uncovered cash receipts by the Congress from Megha Engineering, a major donor in the electoral bonds scheme, and others. These findings purportedly emerged during raids on associates of Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath.
Allegedly, the total cash receipts between 2013-14 and April 2019 amounted to ₹626 crore, encompassing proceeds from an alleged corruption scandal. Officials claimed this was substantiated through various means, such as documents found during searches, WhatsApp messages, and recorded statements.
Citing Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, officials noted that political parties are exempt from tax on money received if specific conditions, including not accepting amounts over ₹2,000, are met. They argue that Congress violated these conditions, thus becoming liable for tax on its entire income.
“The Congress has managed to secure a stay because the Income Tax department has presented detailed, corroborated evidence in court records. If Congress believes it is innocent, it should release the entire assessment order to the public, and the truth will be revealed,” the report quoted sources as saying.
On Thursday, the Delhi High Court dismissed four petitions by the Congress against income tax reassessment proceedings for the 2017-18 to 2020-21 assessment years.
In response, Congress claims it has received two more tax notices in addition to the ₹1,800-crore demand. Youth Congress members protested in Delhi against what they label as the BJP-led Central government’s “tax terrorism.”
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh remarked on Saturday, “The Congress is under attack, receiving repeated notices. We received two more notices on Friday night, making six after our press conference yesterday. I’m unsure how many more will follow.”
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar commented, alleging that these notices are evidence of the BJP’s fear of the Congress and the INDI alliance. “The BJP understands they will lose the elections, so they attempt to instil fear. I received an Income Tax notice last night regarding a resolved matter,” he claimed.
