In February, the Department of Income Tax placed a freeze on the four bank accounts that belonged to Congress. Even though the party attempted to bring the case before the tribunal on Friday, they were unsuccessful.
A huge setback for the Congress party happened on Friday when the Income Tax Tribunal denied the party’s request for a stay on the action initiated by the income tax department against the bank accounts of the Congress party. This decision was a significant setback for the Congress party to endure. The election for the Lok Sabha will take place in 2024, and this decision comes before that. In his speech on behalf of the Congress party, Advocate Vivek Tankha requested that the tribunal delay the decision for 10 days so that the party could submit a petition to the high court. Nevertheless, the plea was denied by the bench of the tribunal, which ruled that there was no provision for such a provision in the statute.
As a result of a demand for income tax amounting to ₹210 crore for the fiscal year 2018-19, the income tax agency took possession of the four principal bank accounts that belonged to the party in February. A petition for a stay of action against the action taken by the Department of Income Tax was presented to the tribunal by the party for consideration.
A statement made by the party indicated that if their accounts were frozen, they would be unable to fulfill their obligations, which would include paying their salaries and covering their expenses. On February 21, Ajay Maken, the treasurer of the Congress party, claimed that the income tax department had directed banks to transfer more than ₹65 crore from accounts belonging to the Congress, that of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), and that of the National Student Union of India (NSUI) to the government. During the time that the hearing and decision in the case were taking place, this was carried out.
Is it common practice for national political parties to be obliged to meet the requirements for paying their income tax? No. To what extent is the BJP obligated to pay income tax? No. Having stated that the Congress Party is being challenged with a demand of ₹210 crores, which is an incredible amount that has never been seen before. Made by Ajay Maken, the composer.
What exactly is the situation that Congress is dealing with in terms of the income tax?
It is alleged that the party did not fulfill its responsibilities to pay income taxes for the fiscal year 2017-2018, which is equivalent to the assessment year 2018-19. The complaint that is brought against Congress is as described here. As a result of the late payment, an extra ₹32 crore was accrued as interest, in addition to the initial amount of ₹103 crore that was outstanding. When the obligations were reassessed on July 6, 2021, it was discovered that they amounted to ₹105 crore. Following that, Congress submitted an appeal to the Commissioner of Appeals; nevertheless, they did not pay the thirty percent of the tax that was required of them. According to sources from the Department of Income Tax, the party did not protest the amount of taxes that were owed, even though they made a few payments throughout the case.
In response to the ruling that was given out by the panel, Ajay Maken remarked that it is an assault on democracy because it was handed down before the national elections. As stated by Maken, the party will investigate the various legal options that are open to them about the order issued by the tribunal and will then ask the high court to reverse the order. In its ‘disappointing’ ruling, the tribunal, according to Vivek Tankha, did not adhere to the precedents it had established in the past on its initiative.
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