In a significant blow to Congress, the Income Tax Department has issued a notice of around Rs 1,700 crore to the party, compounding its financial concerns ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as ANI reported.
This development comes following the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of the party’s petition contesting reassessment proceedings for four assessment years.
The fresh demand covers assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21 and includes penalties and interest. The Congress is currently awaiting the reassessment of its income for three additional assessment years, with the deadline set for Sunday.
Congress lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha, who contested the case in the High Court, seeking to halt the proceedings, confirmed the receipt of notices and stated that the party intends to continue its legal challenge.
Tankha has claimed the I-T department’s actions as undemocratic and unreasonable, alleging that the latest notice, amounting to nearly Rs 1,700 crore, was issued without essential accompanying documents.
The tax department has already recovered Rs 135 crore from Congress bank accounts in Delhi, pertaining to tax arrears and interests for the assessment year 2018-19. This action was taken after the party was denied exemption due to failure to meet prescribed conditions.
On Thursday, the Delhi High Court dismissed Congress’s petitions contesting the income tax reassessment proceedings for the financial years 2017-18 to 2020-21.
The court indicated that both Congress and the Income Tax Department were in agreement regarding the conclusion of the challenge presented in these petitions, aligning with the court’s previous decision on the party’s challenge to reassessment proceedings for the years 2014-2017.
The court on March 22 had rejected Congress’s pleas contesting tax reassessment proceedings for the assessment years 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17.
However, it left open the question of whether the asserted delay in commencing proceedings would have a detrimental impact on the assessment itself, to be addressed at a later stage.
