Today (28th March) The Delhi High Court has dismissed petitions from the Indian National Congress challenging tax reassessment proceedings initiated by the Income Tax Department
NEW DELHI: Today (March 28): The Delhi High Court rejected four new petitions filed by the Indian National Congress (INC) challenging the Income Tax (IT) reassessment procedures initiated against the party by the IT Department.
The bench, comprising Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, dismissed the petitions following a mutual agreement between the Congress and the IT Department. Both parties acknowledged that the latest petitions were addressed in a recent judgment by the Court concerning certain other assessment years.
Earlier, on March 22, the Court had already dismissed petitions filed by Congress contesting the re-assessment proceedings for the assessment years 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17. The latest four petitions, pertaining to different assessment years where the IT Department disclosed fresh reports. These assessments were for the years 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, and 2020–21.
The Congress, amidst facing multiple tax-related challenges in recent weeks, has accused the Union government of employing financial tactics to undermine it ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The political party has encountered consecutive dismissals from the courts regarding its objections to the proceedings initiated by the IT Department.
In its ruling on March 22, the Court noted that the IT Department possessed “substantial and concrete evidence” warranting further scrutiny of the political party’s income under the IT Act, while rejecting Congress’s petitions regarding the years 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17.
READ ALSO: “Congress Escaped Income is More Than Rs 520 Crore”: IT Department Tells Delhi HC
Similarly, on March 13, the Court declined a plea by Congress against an ITAT order rejecting its request for a stay on the demand notice issued by the IT Department for the recovery of nearly Rs 105 crore in outstanding taxes.
Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav found that there were no grounds to interfere with the ITAT order. However, the Court allowed Congress to file a fresh application for a stay before the ITAT, including the recovery of Rs 65.94 crore from the party.
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