Delhi High Court today reserved its judgment on the plea filed by the Congress challenging the Income Tax Department’s move to begin tax reassessment proceedings.
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Today (March 20th) concluded its hearing regarding the petitions filed by the Indian National Congress (INC), challenging the decision by the Income Tax Department to initiate tax reassessment procedures against the political party. The reassessment pertains to the fiscal years of 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17.
Presided over by a Division Bench consisting of Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, the court is expected to deliver its judgment shortly, indicating that a verdict could be announced within the next couple of days.
Representing the INC, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi contended that the tax reassessment efforts were beyond the statutory time limit, thus rendering them inadmissible. He argued that these actions breached the legal frameworks set forth by the Income Tax Act, stating,
“the reassessment proceedings are barred by limitation and are being done in violation of the provisions of the Income Tax Act.”
On behalf of the Income Tax Department, Advocate Zoheb Hossain defended the reassessment, asserting that there were no breaches of legal protocols. Hossain highlighted the discovery of substantial undisclosed income attributed to the Congress party, amounting to over Rs 520 crore, thus legitimizing the reassessment procedures.
The court is currently deliberating on the legality of the reassessment for the specified years, while another set of petitions concerning reassessment for four additional years is slated for hearing on March 21.
In an earlier development on March 13, the same bench dismissed a separate plea by the Congress challenging an order from the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). The ITAT order in question had denied the Congress’s request to stay a demand notice from the Income Tax Department, which sought the recovery of approximately Rs 105 crores in unpaid taxes.
The Justices commented,
“there was no reason to interfere with the ITAT order.”
Despite this setback, the High Court allowed the Congress party to submit a new application for a stay before the ITAT, acknowledging the recent events, including the recovery of approximately Rs 65.94 crores from the party. The updated claim, including interest, reportedly totals around Rs 135 crores.
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