The Congress’ main bank accounts were frozen on Friday over an income tax demand of ₹210 crore but an I-T appellate tribunal later allowed it to operate them pending a further hearing next week, a huge relief for the party which said the move had impacted all political activity.
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) will hear the matter on February 21, sources have told ANI, adding that the current due of the Congress party to the tax department totals ₹115 crore.
No bank operations have been seized or stopped in the Congress bank account freeze case, the sources informed further.
“The Congress’ tax dues pertain to FY17-18, AY18-19. The initial dues to the tax department were ₹103 crore and ₹32 crore in interest accrued on late payment. The claims were for not filing the returns on time. The tax dues were reassessed at ₹105 crore on July 6, 2021. Post this, the Indian National Congress (INC) appealed before Commissioner Appeals but did not pay the mandatory 20 per cent of the tax as they had filed a plea by then,” a source said.
“The Congress paid only ₹78 lakh, prompting CIT (Appeal) to dismiss their plea. Again, on May 2023, the INC went for a second appeal at ITAT. The Congress did not apply for any stay on the tax demand at ITAT. In October 2023, the INC paid ₹1.72 crore. No orders were passed by ITAT today. Nowhere in their appeal has the Congress disputed the tax-due amount. No bank account operation has been stopped by the Income Tax department,” the source told ANI.
Meanwhile, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Congress leader Ajay Maken shared the two notices that the party received from the I-T department.
“Two Notices- 1st to AICC bankers, and the 2nd to IYC Bankers;
“A sum of Rs.135,06,88,984/-…(+ ₹75, 17, 97, 015/- for IYC bank account) is due from the Indian National Congress”
“You are hereby required under Section 226(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, to pay to me forthwith any amount due from you to or, held by you, for or on account of Bank Account No. 062304xxxxx and any other bank account/fixed deposit with your bank in the name of Indian National Congress up to the amount of arrears shown above” All Our bankers are being sent this…
Is this not attaching/ seizing/freezing our accounts?”
In a press conference held at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, Maken said, “I have very disturbing news to share with all of you. The accounts of the Congress party and also those of the Youth Congress have been frozen.”
“We received information yesterday that banks are not honouring the cheque we are issuing. On further investigation, we got to know that the Youth Congress’s bank accounts have been frozen. The accounts of the Congress party have also been seized. Income Tax asked for ₹210 crore recovery from the Youth Congress and the Congress. The money in our accounts, sourced through crowd-funding, has been frozen. Freezing the accounts of an Opposition party just a couple of weeks before the Lok Sabha elections are notified is akin to freezing democracy” Maken added.
Questioning the motive behind the alleged freezing of the party’s accounts ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Maken added, “When the accounts of the principal Opposition party are frozen just two weeks before the announcement of the national elections, do you think democracy is alive in our country?”
“We don’t have money to pay salaries to our office-bearers and dedicated cadres. Not just the Nyay Yatra but all our scheduled political activities will be impacted as a result of this. We filed an appeal with the Income Tax appellate tribunal the day before yesterday and the matter is being heard. We have full faith in the judiciary,” the Congress leader added.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
Published: 16 Feb 2024, 07:54 PM IST