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Congress Challenges ITAT Order in Delhi High Court

Kalyani Jha
11 Mar, 2024

The Congress party has taken its battle against the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's (ITAT) order to the Delhi High Court, challenging the dismissal of its plea seeking a stay on the recovery of outstanding tax for the assessment year 2018-19. According to Live Law, the matter was brought before a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, which agreed to list the case for hearing on Monday.

Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha, also a Congress leader, represented the party in the proceedings. Tankha emphasized the urgency of the matter, noting that the party's accounts had been frozen, and their stay application was rejected by the ITAT last week. Tankha expressed concern over the timing of these developments, citing the upcoming elections and the party's financial capacity to participate effectively.

The IT department had issued a notice to the Congress demanding over ₹105 crores as outstanding tax for the assessment year 2018-19. The ITAT's ruling on March 8 upheld the IT authorities' decision to deny income tax exemption claimed by the Congress, stating that the party failed to establish a strong prima facie case against the denial.

Previously, in July 2021, the IT authorities had rejected the Congress's declaration of nil income and demanded the tax amount. The ITAT's recent judgement emphasized the Congress's obligation to file its return of income by the due date.

The Congress has accused the BJP-led Centre of engaging in "financial terrorism" and alleged that the government seized over ₹65 crore from its accounts to weaken the party economically ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The party also criticized the ruling party for its actions, alleging an assault on democracy and an attempt to steer the country towards dictatorship.