I-T to follow normal course of action to recover 'tax dues' from Congress: Sources

New Delhi [India], February 16 : The Income Tax department will follow the normal course of action against tax recovery in the case of the Congress, sources said after party general secretary Ajay Maken alleged that the party's accounts have been frozen by the Income Tax department.
ITAT (Income Tax Appellate Tribunal) will hear the matter on February 21, sources told ANI, adding that the current due of Congress to the Tax Department totals Rs 115 crores.
No bank operations have been seized or stopped in the Congress bank account freeze case, the sources informed further.
"The Congress' tax due pertains to FY 17-18, AY 18-19. The initial due to the Tax Dept was Rs 103 crores and Rs 32 crores in interest accrued on late payment. The claims were for not filing the returns on time. The tax due was reassessed at Rs 105 crores on 6th July 2021. Post this, the 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.
"INC paid only Rs 78 lakh, prompting CIT (Appeal) to dismiss their plea. Again, on May 2023, the INC went for 2nd appeal at ITAT. The Congress did not apply for any stay on the tax demand at ITAT. In October 2023, the INC paid Rs 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.
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 Rs 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.