New Delhi, March 8 -- The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on Friday dismissed the Congress party's appeal against penalties imposed for discrepancies in tax returns from previous years. The party said it was exploring all legal options and will move the high court against it very soon.
The tribunal reportedly dismissed the Congress's appeal against a Rs 210 crore penalty imposed by the Income Tax department. Ajay Maken, the Congress treasurer, confirmed that the party would soon approach the high court.
Maken accused the BJP government of strategically timing this to coincide with the national elections. He described the tribunal's decision to freeze the Congress's funds as a "democratic assault," leaving the main Opposition party without election funds.
"How can one expect fair elections in such a situation when funds to the tune of Rs 270 crore have been freezed or taken away by the Income Tax authorities from Congress party's accounts," he asked.
Maken claimed that the party is now left with "negligible" funds to spend during Lok Sabha elections or for its day-to-day functioning.
He pointed out that no other national political party, including the BJP, has ever paid an income tax penalty in the country's history. "Why single out the Congress party?" he asked.
Vivek Tankha, head of the Congress's legal cell, confirmed the order and condemned the tribunal for not following its own past precedents. He expressed disappointment with the tribunal's order and confirmed that the party would soon approach the High Court.
"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 said. Tankha represented the party in the tribunal against the I-T authorities' order imposing a Rs 210 crore penalty for alleged I-T return discrepancies. The I-T department later instructed all of the Congress party's bankers to pay the penalties to the department.
The Congress had earlier condemned the Income Tax department's actions as "tax terrorism," accusing authorities of targeting the principal opposition party ahead of general elections to undermine its financial resources.
Maken had revealed that the accounts, including those of the Indian Youth Congress, were frozen due to an Income Tax demand of Rs 210 crore for 2018-19. He explained that the party received a total of Rs 142.83 crore in 2018-19, of which only Rs 14.49 lakh was donated to the party by ex-MLAs, ex-MPs, and others from their monthly salaries. Maken clarified that the delay in filing Income Tax returns for that year prompted the action.
The Congress has been raising funds through crowdfunding and has launched campaigns in this regard, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The party stated that its crowdfunded funds have also been frozen by the tax authorities.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the Modi Government for freezing the accounts of the country's largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress, just before the Lok Sabha elections. He described this as a "deep assault on India's Democracy."
The Congress also accused the BJP of attempting to "murder democracy" and drag the country into a "dictatorship raj." Kharge previously described the Modi Government as autocratic, accusing it of capturing democracy through extortion and financial terrorism.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.