The Congress party announced on Saturday that it has been issued new notices by the Income-Tax department for the assessment years spanning from 2014-15 to 2016-17, with total demands amounting to Rs 1,745 crore. This adds to the existing notice for assessment years 1994-95 and 2017-18 to 2020-21, bringing the cumulative demand to Rs 3,567 crore.
The fresh notices were received on Friday evening, The Indian Express reported, citing sources.
During a press conference on Friday, the Congress stated that it had received notices from the Income-Tax department spanning five years (Assessment Year 1994-95 and AYs 2017-18 to 2020-21), demanding a payment of Rs 1,823 crore.
After the Income-Tax department’s raids before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, revealing alleged “unaccounted transactions” totaling Rs 523.87 crore, a series of notices have been issued.
On March 22, the party’s challenge to the search operations conducted by the Income-Tax department was dismissed by the Delhi High Court. The party contended that these actions were “time-barred” and constituted a “delayed action”.
Additionally, in March of this year, the Congress party’s appeal before the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) was unsuccessful. The party had sought a stay on the withdrawal of Rs 135 crore from its bank accounts, but the appeal was denied.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Congress staged protests nationwide against the Income Tax department’s issuance of fresh notices demanding Rs 1,823 crore, stating it would not succumb to the Centre’s “tax terrorism.” However, the BJP accused the opposition party of misrepresentation, citing alleged tax fraud.
Further, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that he was shocked at receiving an income tax notice, claiming his case was settled and criticizing the department’s oversight of BJP leaders’ tax violations.
In New Delhi, the Indian Youth Congress attempted to march, alleging harassment under the guise of tax rules, while in Thiruvananthapuram, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee organized a protest, accusing the BJP of financially suffocating the Congress.